


Rey’s Mechanics

by LostInQueue



Series: Rey’s Mechanics [1]
Category: Star Wars, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Genre: A/B/O scenario, Abduction, Abuse, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Family, Angst and Humor, Angst with a Happy Ending, Brotherhood, Car Chases, Car Show, Cars, Drug-Induced Sex, Drugged Sex, F/M, Fast Cars, Feels, Fights, Fingering, First Time Blow Jobs, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Friendship, Gen, HEA, Happy Ending, History, Horse Tranquilizers, Humor, Hurt Rey, Love, Lust, Marksmanship, Massive orgy, Mates, Mechanics, Multi, Music, Near Death Experiences, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Oral, Oral Sex, Orgy, Original Character(s), Plot Twist, Racing, Rape/Non-con Elements, Rey abducted, Scavenger Rey (Star Wars), Sex, Sexual Content, Sisterhood, Smut, Spiders, Stalking, Street Racing, Strength in Family, Strong Rey (Star Wars), Triggers, alpha can’t rage mode his way to save mate, alpha-omega, awful twist, ben Solo hero, ben saves rey, black market, child endangerment, drugged rey, heat inducing drug abo scenario, homlessness, motorcycle chases, music references, not your usual abo, rey claims Ben as mate, strong omegas, strong rey becomes dependent on strong Ben alpha, unwanted claims abo scenario orgy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-05 17:01:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 15
Words: 96,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15175286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostInQueue/pseuds/LostInQueue
Summary: Stricken with nightmares, Rey rarely sleeps. Instead she finds herself looking back at her past evolving into the spitfire young woman that she is in present day.Now, Rey is the owner and mechanic at her own place. Realizing there’s a Help Wanted sign on the window of her lobby to her shop, it seems to stir up the usual crowd she gets and things get pretty out of hand.Her friends, just like Rey, are tenacious and forthcoming. They will stop at nothing to make sure the friends she considers family are safe.—-





	1. Help Wanted

[](https://ibb.co/fJsewe)

CRASH!! 

More metal ringing sounds as everything seems to fall. 

Gasp.

Rey turns to run but is caught by the arm. 

No! 

The large hand covering her entire seven-year-old bicep is clammy, leathery and calloused. She wants to hurl at his stench. Every way she turns his grip on her gets tighter. She’s learned to ignore every word said to her in his retaliation for unchecked behavior. He wasn’t her father. None of them were. She’d learned long ago that none of them cared about her. None of them ever would. Nothing he had to say to her though was ever as potent as being starved. 

—-

As the years went on in and out of foster care, she spent most of her time being ignored in school and tinkering with old junk she’d find walking to and from it. Families would come and go until she gave up going back. The last home she’d been in belonged to some old drunk, Mr. Plutt. He was a collector of all things. He used to talk about the wealth in everything he owned and how happy he was to have it... it wasn’t happiness, it was greed. He would send Rey out to find anything that fit his fancy for years. Her reward was either a shower which most times she wouldn’t dare, due to the high population of strange men that had been known to come around, or food. The food wasn’t good, like what the kids at school would get if they forgot their money that day. No, Mr. Plutt’s version of food could be moldy or whatever he happened to have in the back of the refrigerator that day. Sometimes it would just be a container of water and half a sleeve of crackers. 

Though Mr. Plutt considered himself a collector, he was more of a hoarder than anything. The shack was always filled with machine parts, old newspapers, nick-knacks that hung on the wall, buckets and boxes of pieces of engines, not to mention spilled beer, rodent droppings and the occasional raccoon. Rey hated raccoons. They were nasty and one took over the old cushion that was once her bed and tore it to pieces. 

She was blamed for it. Mr. Plutt threw it out and then the her out too. 

Like garbage. 

It wasn’t enough to be abandoned. She had to be physically thrown out to give up on her past. 

—- 

Gasp!

Rey wakes up in a cold sweat in her cot. Her makeshift room above an abandoned airplane hangar well outside of the city of Los Vegas. It used to house small aircrafts for a retired air crew chief by the name of Han, who had taken her in so to say. He was an older gentleman, the first she’d ever warmed to in terms of having the chance at a conversation for more than asking to use the bathroom or something to eat. He and his dog, Chewie, a German Shepherd, would sit and eat with her in the hangar, where she felt the safest. 

Something about being around machines made her feel whole. Han seemed to admire her for it, weakly, as he did with his wife, like he’d have eventually figured ‘it’ out. Sometimes Rey would wonder if he’d had ever thought of her like a daughter. He’d say positive, kind things to her that Chewie “thought”, as if to feel around her stableness with every passing day. 

By age eleven she’d worked on and sold enough engines and fixed parts for multiple machines, including cars, planes, and lifts that she had enough money to buy the old hangar from Han. Han made sure that he put away the money for her for another time. He figured it was a way to look out for her in the event that he passed before she was ready for her own place. He wasn’t always forward thinking, he did have a past he never spoke of but so did Rey. So long as not a word was loose... they would be able to work together when he was around. 

He was almost never there though. She built it up quickly, creating a forge in the back-left corner that would help her machine parts in shop. Anything that she only had one part of, that she needed on the regular was created right there in the hangar. The first attempt in completing the ventilation almost burned the whole hangar down with her in it. Luckily it poured that night. 

Living in Nevada had its high heat and quick drops in the night time, which was why it was so devastating when the forge damn well burned a hole out the side of the structure. She wasn’t willing to give up and walk away though. 

No. 

Rey was a fighter.

She received burns for it all over her forearms from the second blast but took it in stride. That fucking thing was going to work if she had any say. 

Her next projects were a washing machine, followed by a refrigerator... and that was just the beginning. All of these things had to have power to work. Fidgeting first with the one wall in her room, she prepared the circuit to mimic the ground wire. Flipping the lever to allow the industrial lights on, she noticed that the plug in her room now worked. She set three more there, then worked on units all throughout the building. Every piece of this project of hers was going to happen. She had a dream that she could change her future and that was what she was going to do. 

Every morning she went out back to scrounge through the hoarder devastation Han would leave. If she was going to own the property, it wasn’t going to be a mess. 

By thirteen the grounds were kept tidy. She built the hangar into a shop of her own, ‘Rey’s Mechanics’ and secured the sign at the top of it. Once it was up, it easily became one of her favorite places to be in the evening, but the view was immaculate at any time of day. Sunrises and sunsets were the best times to be up there. 

Next on her list was a proper ventilation system, since it was already sort of in place, it was time to cool it. Cool air was ideal, but she hadn’t had the time to try for air conditioning. Industrial sized fans would have to do it for now. She created the blades, heating them and then banging them out with a huge mallet until it is safely curved to press wind downward to her or release the heat of the day was welcomed. After all, Nevada’s dry heat could burn anything to a crisp. And after spending her first heat alone in this unbearable place, she was damned if she was going to let both the heat of her body and the elements destroy her again. 

Rey didn’t go to school since meeting Han. Any learning she did was on her own with her own intentions in mind. She learned to read back in school, but read more here, whatever she could find. Usually it would be thrown out manuals. The technical language that was maddening to anyone else, she seemed to excel at. Mechanics and mathematics seemed to go hand in hand and business. Can’t forget about business. Business is how she got this far. Honing her skills, applying them to the needs and pockets of others, she quickly learned that she could handle this. 

Rey would continue to have heats alone until she could afford the suppressants. Her first shot made her a little less lethal. By 15 she already machined her own taser and was working on a handgun that had been rotting in the back for ages. It took a lot of cleaning, but it worked eventually which was a necessary tool to keep around with her. If it wasn’t a stalking Alpha, it was a mother fucking spider. 

GOD how she HATED SPIDERS. 

And there were so many of them! It wasn’t just a spider, it was like someone had dumped a bunch of pet tarantulas in her lovely home as a cruel joke. Scorpion? Fine. Just snip the fucking tail off and light the fucker on fire. But SPIDERS! Those fucking furry things could JUMP and they would be in the worst, just the worst places at the worst fucking times. She became an excellent shot because of those mother fuckers. 

A small part of her thanks the devilish creatures since the accuracy really has paid off warding away any roaming Alphas. A few times she’s pulled aim not even looking at the Alpha in question, and shot at a spider near their feet, in probably the most seductive way, making it clear, that she could lethally end him in earnest if he didn’t back the fuck up. 

Her self-conscious side would bring constant alarm in all hours of the day knowing she couldn’t always afford her shots, she had to be ready. Finding an old video player and box television, she recovered it and dealt with the cracked screen, learning mixed martial arts from one of her favorite teachers, Jackie Chan. He was the fastest she’d ever seen, and would be just as fast, mimicking everything he did in the movies. She had secretly wondered if there was anything from Kylo Ren recorded but never found anything of the sort.

Small odd jobs would pop up that she’d notice she’d need like heavy magnetic clamps since no one had really been around to hold the ladder. She controlled it and everything she could with a huge remote she kept fastened to her work belt. Programming it, she’d be able to control the doors, ventilation, lights, magnetic energy field for the strips - Anything she wanted with a series of codes she had memorized. 

Music though, she LOVED music, but oh how it got her in so much trouble. She found it was most important to her right before another heat cycle. That and gum! Cracking her gum on rapid fire made her aware that it was coming. Music though, she wanted it loud, thumping, blissfully keening through her body through each wave of it, but she learned that too was a mistake - even living out away from LA Alphas could still find her like zombies from the _Walking Dead._

Eventually she was able to create her own version of headphones with scraps and an old iPod Shuffle she managed to fix, inserted and hard wired into the left speaker. The volume control was on the right. If she wanted to load it with new music though she’d have to find an iPhone or I-something to download music to it. Hassle. So whatever music was on the thing at the time was what she’d be using to get through her day. At lease she could pump loads of it through her ears, ignore the world while she was working with it. Sometimes silence was good too. She’s kept them on her ears to help her appear to be busy. The battery was rechargeable and lined in a band that went behind her neck. It housed the wires for recharging there so she didn’t have to remember where they were at night or on downtime.  
Each success made her smile. 

But being alone seemed to suck sometimes.

A life of solitude would eventually envelope into more as time went on. Rey’s garage gained “legends” as she grew up into being the true omega she was destined to be. She handled no nonsense with her customers. Being the only one she could trust she would run herself into the ground. Some days she wished she had some help, some companionship, anything since Chewie never seemed to come out from her room anymore. It was fine though, he was old, and it was the coolest place in the hangar. 

Sure enough, as soon as she let her guard down, that’s when things got interesting. Connix was the first to emerge into her life. Followed by Rose, both Beta’s, fiery yet true hearted. They would come around and see Rey working out back like a dog in the extreme heat doing anything to stay busy. It seemed that was Rey’s thing. The busier she was the less she had to worry about anyone else. She had gotten it in her head to make an in-ground pool which had the ladies offering help as way of passage to use it when it was finished. Mutual friends were better than no friends, so she was tempted to try this. 

It would pay off Connix and Rose happened to be just as tenacious around potential mates as Rey was focused on killing anyone that touched her- or spiders. Both of them had places to live and would leave at dusk and return at sunrise looking for work- eventually. 

Rey wipes her face, pausing from her nightmare, momentarily thinking about taking a dip. Thinking maybe the high heat of the night was clawing at her biology, scaring the emotional bullshit right out of her. She grits her teeth at the thought. 

Upon sitting upright on her cot in her little room, she starts wondering why all of these emotional memories really keep plaguing her brain. 

Rey looks over at the analog clock.

3:44am.

Great...

Now standing, she flips on the switch and looks around, nothing in her room but the old cot, mini refrigerator, child sized dresser, the analog clock and nightstand next to her -cot. Oh, how she wished for a bed. But beds cost money. Being behind in her suppressant bills, and not on any kind of health care, like the one’s mandatory in every state, she pays out of pocket by the first full. ANYTHING- not to have another lonely heat cycle. 

In fact, that and basic essentials, including toilet paper, food -canned food or granola bars, water by the gallon, oil, coveralls, and unmentionables were all she seemed to buy outside of her shop. If she knew how to make any of these things, they’d be made in house too. But she had enough going on by now. 

On the nightstand were lose pictures of Han and Chewie, and a few of her friends. Poe who she met a few years ago, when she was 17 just outside. He crashed into the side of the hangar. Rey was pissed. He had to really try to hit her building. There was an air strip to the left and a huge open black top before the doorway. It was gated too and far enough away from the main road to “accidentally” get to. He claimed there was a bee in the car. She knew better. 

Poe was an Alpha, just like all the other ones she shot at. She shot at the ground by him. No spider, scorpion - reasoning she just needed to get through that conversation with him wouldn’t be a conversation of bodies. He was a good enough looking guy, but he looked like he’d been to bed with every set of legs, ever to be attached to a woman’s body. And she would be damned sure it wouldn’t be hers’ as well.

There’s a picture of Finn too. He’s dressed in his Air Force uniform looking smug. It’s the only one he would give her. Every other time she would see him he’d be dressed down in gym shorts and a tee, usually socks and sneakers, or flip flops. That boy had a shoe fetish- she could not understand what was so cool about having pearly white shoes. Or why it mattered what day it was to have a certain brand on. But Finn was nice, like the brother she never had, so she didn’t mind his antics. 

Finn and Poe started coming around more and Connix and Rose started noticing. There was quite a bit of fraternizing going on and sure enough they were all mated, Poe to Connix and Finn to Rose. They made good pairs, but Rey only cared that the girls were safe, and no one was going to knot her. Friend or not, they’d be facing her wrath, and no one was ever going to be prepared for that. They all worked out for her though. No one ever crossed that line and the trust that came from it. By then she had really begun enjoying her life. 

Smiling more, willing to take her guard down around them. They would make sure they watched out for her during her heats. The girls would take turns staying with her or going to the store for anything she needed. This time around, lotion seemed nice. Not fragrant, just lotion to calm her skin through the prickling.

Finn and Poe worked on outdoor showers by the pool after they found out that the girls dug it out. It was least they could do. They made a few stalls together, irrigated it and handled the plumbing. That was a nice surprise when she could stand on her own. Friends. Who knew she could have those? And that they would be genuine?

Looking out the huge window overlooking the floor, she looks around the wide-open space, turning on and off lights in every segment of the hangar. She sees her machinery, the lifts, one in the center of the opposing wall and the one closer to the front desk. The forge on the opposite side. She looks at the floor and sees her projects and the ones requested of her. The taping on the ground to keep people out of her space. In one section she had cars, needing all types of things whether cosmetic or parts, a personal plane, closer to the front sliding doors for easy access and then the front office desk.   
The windows suggested it was still night time but now she was up. She noticed a “Help Wanted” sign in the window and figured she’d ask what they actually needed help with. They were powerhouses, unless they synched with each other’s cycles, their periods or her heats, which was happening more so. Rey was busy, she could get out multiple projects a day if she was fine - she’d been doing it this whole time, but shots were few and far between now that she had to pay Rose and Poe. Connix got a job working for some health care place which she was going to manipulate so that she could get meds for Rey at a more affordable rate. God knows she must be a saint if she would do that for Rey. Finn would be deployed on and off, and if he wasn’t out, he was going for his master’s and any other program the Air Force would pay for, setting himself up for higher ranks and a better pay grade if he went for a job in the real job market outside of the military. He was a smart guy, and Rose was very lucky. 

Rose stayed with her helping her mold parts and put them up on the rotating wall in inventory. It was a lift of sorts that would cycle through shelves and would ascend up the back wall aligned with her room. It would descend down a pulley system and back up within feet of it showing a shelving unit for every part she seemed to of needed the most, and rare parts in the event that they would be called upon for quick fixes to older machines. 

Next to that we’re tools for just about anything. The tools Rey used all the time were set in her belt, on her left hip, mimicking the size of the remote on her right. It just felt right. When they weren’t with her, they were always on the desk below it. Everyone knew not to touch it. Poe took something once. He never did it again. 

A swim was just going to have to wait. 

She went through her rounds. Grabbing her coveralls, headphones, a piece of gum, and the clip board to see what the closest car needed done. Simple stuff like an oil change, she’d roll her eyes, stroke out a code on her remote and prime the lift in case it needed to be moved. They were older so it needed time to move. Another thing she swore she was going to fix. There were oil pits, two, in closer proximity to the doors so that an oil slick wasn’t left in the middle of the room for her to fall on. 

Starting the engine and pulling onto the first platform she parks the car, gets out, jumps down in the next pit, to get the oil change out and finished. She marks miles on it and a date to return for another one on a windshield friendly sticker, then pulls it outside. Opening the door with her remote from the inside of the car and moving it into the lot outside, she realizes the line that must have formed overnight. They all have small jobs, patching tires, battery replacements, oil changes, filter changes, ventilation checks and then there’s one at the back that needs breaks. Yes. Ok... pool? No pool has to wait. 

The cars and trucks are done within the remainder of the morning. Everyone is lined up, but all the keys are in the front for safe keeping. She knows it’s not normal, but also knows people are ruthless and will steal anything, so keys stay in a locked glass cabinet behind the counter. 

Dawn has neared and Rey goes to sit at her favorite place with breakfast. Granola and an apple Rose got her yesterday. The shop opens at 8am because waiting for 9am sounded dumb. Idly she wonders what Rose needed help with. If it was important and if someone would answer the call, what she’d have to do to train them. No need to think on it now she thought as she bit into her apple. Movement on the pavement starts steadily and she reluctantly waves to them, leaving the roof and opening shop. 

Rey arms herself and starts the day. 

Now in the front opening the padlocks and pulling up the gates, she realizes the line forming. Tossing her apple core in the waste basket next to the door she pushes it open for her first customer. The man catches it and soon the lobby is full of last night’s patrons. Numbers are called and keys are given after payment. It’s not long before they’re gone and Rose walks in after them. 

“Good morning, Rey!”

“Hey Rose,” she smiled, her gum is cracking loud as ever and is being kind enough to drop her headphones over her collar bone when she speaks to her friend. 

“It’s going to be a hot one today: one hundred and fifteen they said... want me to run for ice? It’s like a dollar a bag... we could put some in the pool.” 

Rey let out a giggle, opened the register giving her twenty dollars to go handle it. “Take my truck when you go,” she says, figuring her little Bug would not hold it all. 

The girls have a laugh.

“What’s the “Wanted Sign” for?” Rey asks.

“Oh,” Rose smiled, “Finn’s coming home, and I’ve got it bad!” she laughed. “We’re gonna go looking for houses...” 

Rey lifts an eyebrow, “Exciting! Where?”

“Oh, around here,” she says assuring her friend, “This is the best job I’ve ever had, and I really enjoy being with you.” Rose winks. 

“Too right,” Rey laughs, “Too right. What are you looking to cover? Everything you do?”

“Clerical, errands for you, and whatever you need... what do they call them these days?” She thinks about it bringing both hands to her temples, “Finn said they were Administrative Assistants.” 

“Sounds fancy,” she pokes Rose. 

“It is fancy! So, I have a note on the sign that says to see me outside, but we may have to move it in so that there aren’t bodies outside in the heat.”

Rey nods. “Use the lobby” suggesting the area they’re in. It’s caged off and Rey would be safe in her impending heat in the back.

Luckily no one comes. Sort of luckily. Rey wasn’t interested in a bunch of bodies in her lobby unless they were there for business. She’d been waiting on some deliveries, but aside from that she was happy to work until the mid-afternoon at its hottest to go lounge around the pool with Rose. 

Connix came by around five in the evening exclaiming that she’d been approved for suppressants for Rey. It was mildly against the law to apply as a Beta for such a large dosage, but an older coworker that warmed to her said she’d been doing it for years and hooked her up. 

“I don’t want you losing your job for me,” Rey implored.

“Oh, I won’t,” Connix puts her hands up saying, “We’re covered, “I’m claiming you as a dependent and you can just pay the difference for them.” 

Rey pulls herself up out of the pool and wraps Connix in a sopping wet hug.

“You’re the best, babe,” Rey says as she stifles her whimper, “aside from having friends like you, that’s one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me!”

Connix drops her bag and pulls Rey in.

“You have no idea what you’ve done for all of us. This is the least I could do.” She smiles into Rey’s hair.

Footsteps and a cat call behind them suggest it’s Poe, Rey opens her eyes and flips him off. “I’m stealing your mate. She was meant for me,” she laughs. 

Poe raises an eyebrow. “I’d like to see you try.” He turns his head to look at Rose, “There’s a handful of people in the front asking about the position.”

“Can you tell them to come back in the morning and we’ll handle it then? We need them to preform and Rey wants to make sure they’re not just smelling her. Are you going to be here for this? I’m sure it will be quite the show?” asks Rose, winking at Rey.

Rey releases Connix, “Is this just for your entertainment?” she laughs 

“Mildly,” replies Rose. “Those fools have no idea what they’re walking into. If I didn’t know you were an Omega, I’d have first guessed Alpha.”

Rey’s smile beamed as it stretched across her face, “Too funny!” 

Poe leaves to confront the applicants. Then returns with drinks and towels. Connix is in the pool and Rose is laying out. Rey left for the shower. 

“You ok, Rey?”

“Yeah, I have some things I want to do before tomorrow. The lift has been sputtering when I turn it on, and I need to make sure it works or that engine isn’t getting finished. I need that done—it’ll be a good pay out.”

“Just let us know if you need anything” Poe calls putting a towel over her door. 

“Thanks, dear,” she says. With that Rey covers herself and heads inside, “Lock up when you’re done.” 

“Yep!”

—-

Rey pulls new clothes from the drawer next to her cot. A new white bra, white tank, a black thong and spanks, her usual. Especially under her coveralls. After she’s changed, she looks for a pair of socks, puts them on. Pulling her boots from Chewie, she gives him a pat on the back, telling him to go back to sleep. Rey slips them on and ties them methodically. 

Into the evening it’s known to get cold, so she grabs new coveralls, green this time, she’s in no hurry. She casually puts them on, stretching them over her boots, ‘I must be tired if I put my boots on before these,’ she admonished herself.

She raises to her feet, sashaying her garment up her body and then thrusting her arms through the sleeves, she sighed rubbing her neck and moving to get her gear on. First to go on is her leg strap holster, sheathing her loaded pistol within it. She’d tuck extra ammo in her pocket just in case of those bastard spiders. “Fuckers,” she spits out, with a giggle. Next is her tool belt with her tools on the left hip and the remote on the right. As she turns, he had the faintest feeling she’s being watched. 

The Omega part of her is enjoying the thought while survivalist Rey is not. 

Quickly, she punches six codes in and all of the lights flood in. No one is there. Odd. She leaves the lights on for the remainder of the night because of it. Locking up as she usually does but leaves her music around her neck instead of her ears. She needs to know if her senses are deceiving her or not. Maybe she was just in a heightened sense of awareness since realizing the Wanted Sign this morning.   
She licks her lips and pushes them together, pushing forward with her task. 

Gum! 

She needed gum... BAD. Something to snap while she figured shit out. ‘Bubblicious that’ll do it.’ 

She looks up at the time.

8:15pm - plenty of time. 

She starts working on the lift finding out the inner gear formation had been grounded down from the sun star gear it once was. She drops her shoulders and lightly bangs her head on the hood of the open equipment. She groans and pushes her head back trying to think of where there’s another one, or steel to make a new one out old parts. 

Her music pounds out a lyric that stays with her:

_“...I’m just an apostrophe,  
Just a symbol that there’s more to see...”_

That's when she thinks of the rack on the other wall. Getting off the ladder she makes her way back across the hangar with the piece in mind. Turning on the rack to sort through any of the wall of parts to see if they had a match she groans, “Wouldn’t it be divine to find what you’re looking for the first time?” 

She hears someone’s breath hitch. Someone is inside the lobby. She looks at the gate, the padlock to her is locked. She’s safe. Then she looks up at the clock, 8:57pm, again remembering their summer hours, until ten.

‘Why did we do that again?’

She remembers Connix simply saying, ‘Boosters’.

‘That’s right. That’s right...’ she looks at her own in the works. ‘That’s right.’ 

“Hello?” She tries to sound authoritative. She motions to put the lights on in the Lobby and there stands a giant of a man. “How can I help you?”

He just stares at her.

‘Oh God here we go, another Alpha, stalking her...’ She clears her throat. Ready to speak again, hanging her fingers through the chain-linked fencing she’d installed by the front desk all those years ago with her right hand high but comfortably above her head, pushing her left and into her hip, cockily. “If your answer is, “knot”, “rut”, “heat” or anything pertaining to your biological needs to get with an Omega, you can get the fuck out.”

He blinks a few times letting it sink in. His brow furrows but he doesn’t look mad. “I’m just looking for Rey. Is he here? I was in an accident and I need a tow and probably repairs,” he sighs as if it was hard enough telling a woman that he might not know everything other Alphas did. He can’t seem to stop looking her over. Maybe trying to get an idea of what she looks like out of her uniform. Maybe trying to figure out if she’s the Omega she brought up...Trying to hide his interest in the spunky little thing in front of him.... when he realizes her scent...it’s a strong, sweet smell coming from her, mixed with chlorine and engine grease? Trying to hold his breath through it and waiting for an answer the man sways where he stands. 

Rey’s getting a small kick out of it but is entranced by him as well. She noticed that her mouth is open, dragging her tongue to the left, slowly over each tooth, before cracking her gum excruciatingly loudly making the space sizzle between them. 

‘Why haven’t I grabbed my gun yet? Oh yeah, the fence. Right.’

She tries not to look him over so she stairs him down instead. He watches as his eyes go from her to the floor and back, “I’m Rey,” she finally says, “This is my shop. My guys are outside.” His stance goes from stalk still to defensive just from her bringing up the idea of other men. “I’ll get Poe to go with you and bring your car back here. Stay here.” She orders him walking out the side door, cracking her gum as she goes. 

His gaze only breaks as she makes it out the door.

“Poe!” he hears her yell.

“What!” 

“There’s a guy in the front needing a tow, can you get on that?”

“Aren’t we closed?”

“It’s summer hours- till ten.” Rey replies and they all look at Connix.

“Ooo, woah! Don’t look at me like that. You’ll thank me in July when all the pissy little teenagers want rims and shit applied to their cars.”

During the conversation, the man walks outside and listens in to see what’s taking so long. Surprised to hear splashing and people arguing about hours. Poe slurs something incoherent.

“How much have you had to drink?” he hears ‘her?’ ask, she has the same attitude as Rey, maybe it’s her he thinks. “You know what? I don’t want to know,” she throws her hands up, “I’ll handle it myself. Don’t drown in my pool.” 

He has the sudden need to bolt back into the lobby where she said to stay. ‘I’m an Alpha... Why I’m letting her tell me what to do?’ He shakes his head and tries to look like he’d been there the whole time. Sitting quickly before she realized he’d been snooping. 

“Guy!” she calls him walking back through the door. “What’s your name, man?” she shoves the key into the pad lock, twisting it open, and pulling it downs sharply, making him tense to control himself. As she quickly slinks between the door locking it just as swiftly. He pops up from his chair. She looks up at him, adjusting so she can look him in the eye. “What’s your name?” Rey realizes his shape for a moment. 

He’s big.

Like huge. 

But thin. Well not thin, more like muscular? She rolls her eyes at herself. ‘Stop ogling him’ and then it hits her.... ‘his smell is luring’. She cracks her gum again. 

“Ben. I’m Ben.” Ben does his best to hold his breath. 

“Good to meet you. Sorry, Poe’s not well-so I’m going to take you.” She grabs for the keys to her truck and smirks at the amusing words her brain chose. 

God, he smells good. It’s as if her body finally agrees with her. A sudden shift within her prickles her skin, making her completely aware of what’s happening. ‘This is not the time for this’ she gushed. ‘Fuck!’

“Listen. I’m going into heat. If you think you can’t handle yourself stay here and I’ll get your car by myself. Just tell me where it is.” Rey gets into her truck and starts it when a fucking blast of heat damn well burns every cell in her body. 

“I SWEAR TO GOD it’s like you think you’re INVINCIBLE!” Rose pops the passenger side door. She takes the keys out of the ignition. “You’re not on ANYTHING. I found your stash EMPTY!! You’re going to get raped! WHO’S THIS GUY?” 

“Ben,” she gasps, “He’s Ben.” She’s starting to lose her wherewithal, rolling her head into the seat. 

To control himself he starts walking away but is within earshot of their conversation. “Why is it so much stronger?” Ben hears her mewl. 

“Stronger?” Rose sees her friend convulse at the pain the wave set in. 

“It’s never been this bad! I had a few more days...”

“Did he touch you? So, help me I’ll kill him for you!” Rose screeches. 

Ben’s trying to breathe through the open air barely being able to control himself. He’s down right grumbling to himself about bothering getting out of the car in the first place. Closing his eyes tightly, he figures he can ignore them when Rose shouts from the open door, “Ben! How’d you get here?”

“Walked!”

“Rey. I’m-I can’t move you. I have to let him pick you up.”

“Where’s Poe?” She asks. 

“He left with Connix. It’s late. I can’t have you stay in the truck,” she pulls her last emergency shot out of her purse. “You’re lucky I have this.” Pinching her thigh, she stabs and injects Rey with the emergency dosage of suppressants. “It’ll take two to four hours before it kicks in. You’ll still go through it, but it should be less painful.” Once it’s injected, she pulls the syringe out quick, recapping it, and waving Ben over. “You’re going to hate me, but he is controlling himself around you- it might be because you’re packin’, but I can’t lift you and we can’t drive into the hangar with all of your projects around. I’ll shoot him myself if--"

“Thanks Rose, you’re a good friend.” 

“Ben?”

Ben makes his way back over to the truck, “What?” He manages to grit through his teeth. Her heat is setting off his rut and he’s having the worst compulsions of his life. Her potency is hammering through him even at this distance. His breathing is shallow and almost sounds like he’s growling through it. 

“Lift Rey and bring her in with me; unless she asks you to, you do nothing else for her.” Rose cradles Rey’s head and scoots her body across the driver’s seat down to him. “Walk quickly, it’s not safe out here for her.” She doesn’t care that he’s an Alpha, she’s mated, she’s more concerned of the ones that Rey has already shot at that lurk around. 

Rey is vaguely aware of what’s going on. She can feel his touch surge through her like electricity, completely welcomed. As she turns into him, she realizes it was him. He did it, he pushed her over, his scent, warm and comforting largeness... all of these things she never knew she wanted. 

“Tell me what you want Omega,” he huffed at her, trying to refrain from using the words she required struck from his vocabulary upon meeting her just before. His hands grew tighter around her as she arched her back, cooing as she turned into him. It made him swell with pride, she didn’t have to say anything. It was just in the way she turned and snuggled in. 

“That shot is going to knock her out,” Rose said hastily as she opened the door, “Her room is upstairs but she’s not ready for it. Usually she takes a cold shower and goes to bed. Showers are outside. Put her on the table first. Sit. Butt - Down.” Rose turns to Rey and cups her face so she can focus. “I’m going to get you ready for a shower,” removing her pistol and leg wrap, Rose puts them down on the table next to her. Rose tells Ben write down his number, where his car is located, make, model and that they’d call him a cab as she unhooks Rey’s belt, shoes and socks. 

“But MY Omega...” he stammers out, flaring his nostrils looking like he’d puffed out his chest, expecting to claim his prize. “She scented me! She’s mine!”

Rose, of all of 5’0” had her merits that day. She earned all of Rey’s trust had thereof been anything left not to. She simply looked up at him and said, “Go Home Alpha! This is not YOUR Omega! She is not an OBJECT and certainly not getting fucked by someone she met FIVE MINUTES AGO!”

Ben was seething, blood boiling, ready to pounce until Rose picked up Rey’s pistol, raising it high above her head and fired three shots breaking him of his cock concentration. “Fine.” He didn’t wait for a cab, he just walked out into the night busting loads along the side of the road for all Rose cared.

Rose returned to Rey helping her out of her jumpsuit, threw it in the wash, let her shower in her clothes, gave her a towel and walked her up the stairwell into her room. “We really need to make you a bed,” frustrated Rey still uses that old cot from almost eight years ago. 

“Cot is fine,” she sighed, “I love you Rose.”

“Goodnight Rey. I’ll see you in the morning.”

——

The next two days the shop stayed closed due to her extreme heat. It didn’t help that she kept needing Ben’s scent. ‘When is this going to stop?’ She complained. It lasted longer than it should have. Every other time she’d just go through the motions, ice packs, cold showers, constant nudity, toys when it got really bad. She’d usually find herself bare on the floor to keep cool, fondling herself until she could sleep it off and enjoy wearing clothes again. 

As the days passed, Rey was back fixing shit when Connix comes in at 7:30am with a whole bag of suppressants, and a clinic gynecologist that had an opening to supply her uterus with an IUD. “Rose told me what happened, and being basically your sisters, were just looking to protect you. Besides, I hear that Alpha went into rut and still could function with his brain. He may be worth finding.” She winks at Rey, looping her arm in arm. “Come on. Appointment is at 8:30am. And we have a whole day of training after that.”

“Shit, really?” Rey says feeling guilty about it. “Hey, can I ask you some questions on this?”

“Please, I can answer anything, I’m making you get an IUD, I’m pretty sure we’re on the level,” laughs Connix. 

“When you’re with Poe, can your brain still function or do all your senses cave while your offering up your vagina to him, to have with you as he pleases? 

“You are not refined in anyway,” she spits her gum starting the engine. “Definitely one of my favorite things about you. In a word, yes. It’s kind of like being drunk off your ass. All he has to do is stand next to me and it’s over. If there weren’t laws on public fucking, I’m sure we’d of marked the world by now.” 

Rey just gapes at her.

“It’s the honest truth, babe.” 

The sunrise is almost complete by the time they get to the gynecologist. Rey starts with her usual, ‘I can do this,’ chant. She’s thankful as fuck that the doctor isn’t a man especially coming off of her heat as of late. She’s commanded like she’s an animal though, ‘Feet up on the holsters,’ ‘Scoot butt down all the way to the edge of the table,’ ‘Butterfly open your legs,’ ‘Wider,’ all these commands except for the one that you’re supposed to get when they shove that clamp into you, not that one, let’s not tell me that one - good show.’ The fucking IUD burns on the way in, almost like a mini heat, but then, it’s all good. 

Can’t feel it! 

Connix suggests a Dunkin’ Donuts Coolata, something Rey hasn’t ever had before. “It’s on me, babe. Also, let’s get you a pair of shades. Rose said you were going to take up training based on who was left over on the initial interest of applicants.”

“Yeah, can I just borrow your Aviators? We’ll just see how it goes- you know how I like to see clearly give that dead eye look.”

“They’re a little scratched, but yeah. Throw in a little gum crackin’ and your usual outfit and antics and you’ll scare them shitless.” She laughs, “Shoot a spider. We might actually get a good worker out of this!” Connix laughs. 

“Oh, that guy’s car. Did someone pick it up?” 

“Yeah, Poe got it the next morning. He’s called about it and I thought he was just going to come pick it up and go somewhere else since you weren’t well.” 

“Shit. That was a bad heat—"

“You’re one of the strongest women I know. For you to say that, it may be worthwhile to give that guy a try.” 

“We’ll see if he even takes a look instead of running out with his keys!”

Smirking as they pull up to Dunkin’ Donuts “He’d be a fool to- I hope you know that.”

The drive through was packed so Connix and Rey went inside for their drinks. Connix got iced coffee for Rose, three creams, three sugars, a lemonade Coolata for herself, and a Strawberry one for Rey. She couldn’t get over the size of the small drink. That could easily last for at least four days. Her eyes widen after tasting it. 

“Slow down! You’re gonna get a brain freeze.”

“Good, God, it’s already happening!” she tries to laugh but whines instead. 

Alphas seem to pop up everywhere by that sound, “Come on, let’s go babe,” usually calms the crowd, Connix holds the door for her and they’re off. 

“It doesn’t seem to take a lot now does it?” Rey insecurely asks. 

“Nah, that’s why the trip was important. You’re a woman now. Not a teenager. Alphas and Omegas are powerhouses, they usually have the strongest litters -babies- little humans... call it what you like, they usually do. That’s why you’re in high demand. Too many cocks not enough goddesses.” She slurps her lemonade, getting into the truck and winking at an onlooker. 

Rey blushes. 

“Girl! Please!”

“You know you are! You make looking tan and toned easy- but it’s not. You’re lean and can stand on your own without a man if you needed to. I’ve never heard of target practice with tarantulas, but you’re an ace of a shot for it.”

Rey’s smile widens. “You really know what to say to a girl.” 

“Woman!”

——

Back at Rey’s, Connix and Rey bring in the drinks and Rey goes to get dressed. Putting on her usual gear she starts up the forge and sets the steel scraps for the replacement gear she needs in the lift. It’s still early and she makes light work of it putting the mold in, filling it, removing it from the fill zone, down to be cooled. Once it’s done, she uses a diamond blade to measure out the accurate groves in the gear, cleaning them so as not to damage the remainder of the lift in motion. Hauling that and a ladder she moves across the hangar to set it. Usually she’d coat it, but she was pressed for time. The lubricant should work well enough for the day, so she tests it moving up and down on the wall. ‘Hydrologic mechanisms range of movement- good- check’ she says in her mind. ‘Time for the real test.’   
Rey climbs up the side of the lift car and moves over the aerial walkway. Grabbing the chain from the pulley system, she gives it some slack bringing the chain all the way to the floor next to Ben’s car. ‘Good’ she thought, continuing down the cat walk down the stairs next to her bedroom.

Good. Good. Good. 

Ben’s car is certainly not one she’s driven, but it’s stick, and a black Honda NSX with red accents in the headlights, door handles and undercarriage. ‘They’re pretty hot’ she admired the body work, ‘except for the obvious damage to it’. Grabbing a clip board, and jotting down the obvious denting and scratching, nothing seemed too out of place. Headlights needed to be replaced on the one side. Everything else had to be buffed out and painted. ‘I have time...’ she thought. 

She unzipped the top of her coverall off to the waist, revealing her tight black spaghetti strapped tank top which left not much to the imagination. Her muscles were obvious and toned. She had her head phones on, lowering them slightly to pull her hair up high, well off her neck, oblivious to Ben who came early and was watching her move over his car. 

He watches her carefully, she licks her fingers slowly, then her bottom lip as she removes her gum, sticking it on the top of the left headset speaker... takes out his keys, bites them between her teeth. He stifles a grunt watching her daftly preform these actions, she draws her fingers lightly underneath the door handle, tugging at it softly, he can’t imagine why. It’s a door. But she’s careful with it. She steps her right foot into the car, lowering herself achingly slowly he felt, he’d never have wanted to be in the seat with her so badly. He was actually jealous of his car. 

What? 

He rolls his eyes back in his head only able to watch from the unmanned lobby as she finally sits, closes the door and starts the ignition. As it roars, he lets out a primal grumble seeing her response to it. He watched as she reveled in it. Down into his seat, she pushed her head back into the headrest and shoulders into the seat, pushing her chest out, and undoubtedly rolling her hips back. His cock twitched at the sight of this. Gripping the wheel and setting it in reverse, she guns it and the roar of the engine surprises Ben, as she whips the wheel around, spinning it quickly towards the open hangar doors. She’s shifting gears like a professional driver and it shakes Ben enough to storm out of the lobby door to see where she’s off too with his car. 

Rey does ‘Systems Checks’ with every car that comes in with major body damage. Cars are her thing. She pulls the gum off of her headset, popping it smoothly back into her mouth, turns down her music by twirling her finger over the right speaker, and listens to the engine roar as she takes off down the air strip. 

“Where the fuck is she going?” Ben spit out. 

Poe walks up next to him, “Systems Check” he nods, “Rey has a way about her, she needs to know how everything works before she can fix it. Right now, systems check.” He looks Ben over, “She usually takes the customer for it. Did she know you were here?”

“No, no one was at the desk, and she had her headphones on.”

“So, you didn’t try to get her attention anyway?” Poe laughs. “She usually does two rounds to first hear the problem, and then to distinguish what it actually is. She’s usually done in five to ten minutes depending on how bad it is.” He walks in to get ready for the recruits.

A few show up watching the spectacle. Rey makes her first pass at top speed, rounding out to turn in third gear from fifth, daftly shifting and pulling the emergency break, drifting out to the next pass. The guys lined up start hollering, getting rowdy at the site of the car flying up and down the strip in seconds. Aviators on her eyes, licking her lips, and pushing out a bubble then sucking it back in. Ben inhales sharply, and his breathing accelerated wondering if the pounding in his chest was going to give him a heart attack. Was she in some way doing this as a show for him? 

Back the hangar she pulls up to drop in for a quick oil change, then pulled up to where she had it before, pushing a few buttons ascending it on top of a lift. She checks the undercarriage over finding debris and some of the parts dented or lose because he probably bottomed out trying to drift. She makes short work of it. 

He’s back in the lobby all but hanging on the gate, raggedly, wondering where this woman had been all his life. He watches her reach up into the undercarriage. He doesn’t remotely know what’s under there but wishes it’s bad so he can continue watching her tiny body reach up and deep within it. She pulls hard on something above her and just the angle of it gyrates through her perfect body, rippling and bouncing those gorgeous breasts...it knocks out his breath. Before he knows it, she tosses everything she pulled out in a wastebasket next to her. She takes her time combing over it one more time before ducking out from under it. 

Lowering about half way to the ground, the car back to the ground she sees the tires are unusually bald. The metal reinforcement is showing through the middle of the front of the back tires. She gets the impact driver to quickly remove the lug nuts from both of them, placing them in her bra and pulling each tire from the axial, carrying them on her shoulders at the same time. She walks all the way up to the front she bends slightly so she can put them under a table for the moment. Cracking her gum and fiddling with the right side of her headphones, she swirled it around and nodded at herself like she found something. 

He started noticing she’d take her gum out when she wanted to sing. He strains to hear her as he watches her mouth practice the lyrics -he’s sure of it. She’s singing something he’s heard once or twice on the radio maybe five years ago, maybe more? She- he’s having dreams of constantly running his cars into something just to see her again. ‘Ask her out, stupid.’ He admonished himself. ‘How do you ask a girl like Rey for ANYTHING?’

She returns with the same model tires. ‘How does she even have those?’ He thinks. Pulling the new tires over her shoulders he watches as her muscles tighten under her shirt. ‘An Omega isn’t supposed to look like this...’ he thinks, but he can’t look away. She’s handling the lug nuts a fist at a time and he can’t help but salivate imaging is sack in her tiny palm and pray they have a bathroom where he can jerk off before he speaks a word to her. 

“Do you have a bathroom?” he hurriedly asks one of the girls at the desk. 

“Yep” slurping her iced coffee. 

“Can I use it?” his face scrunches trying entirely too hard to hide his growing girth.

“Yep,” Rose vaguely answers the man. She’s too amused that she refrains from telling him where it is. 

“Rose!”

“Shit- Hi!” he blanches.

“Yep-Hi.”

“It’s over here. Whatever goes on in there your responsible for cleaning. There’s bleach and paper towels under the sink.” Connix looks up at him over her magazine, pointing to the left. 

“Rey!?” Rose calls. 

“Her headphones are on dear. Pretty sure if he’s been here in the lobby this whole time, she didn’t notice him ogling her at all.” Connix lifts her eyebrow.

With that the door to the bathroom clicks, then locks. He looks around to be sure that there was bleach under the sink before taking his pants down thinking about Rey. He’s pretty sure the walls are thin and the girls in the front are taking bets on whether or not he’s beating off in their bathroom. No matter if they knew, right? No that’s- this is a problem. There’s a jiggle on the bathroom door handle, followed by a hard knock. 

“Babe! Connix! Get that damn thing off of her before she storms in on that boy!” Rose hollered. 

Connix hops over the desk and pulls the speaker off her ear, “Rey! Babe- your mate’s in the bathroom.”

“What? My what? I don’t have a mate!”

“Shhh! Shh! Shit” Connix is staring at some red head that overheard her. 

Rey looks up at him, lopsided tilting her head to her right shoulder. “What can I help you with?” she asks cockily, nodding up to his gaze, standing in his stance, letting her music pump between them.   
He laughed in her face, “I’ll take you- bound and submissive, Omega.”

“The fuck you will,” she tested him, but heard something more, not her voice. She ignored it and sucker punched him right in the stomach. Not knowing Ben was behind her staring at this woman he wanted- no needed- in his life. Rey grabs his arm and dragged him out of her lobby right into Poe. 

“See that this asshole gets to his car and off my lot.” 

Poe nods and the leave. 

“Babe—" says Rey referring to Connix over her shoulder, “See that my mate gets a laxative or whatever he needs to finish up.” 

She just gapes at her. 

“Rose let’s find you some back up,” pulling her coverall back on and zipping it up, adjusting her Aviators, cracking her gum and music resting under her ears...she leads out the door. 

—— 

Poe, Rose and Rey stand next to each other in the high heat. Poe almost speaks up when Rey assessed them all as one group. Throwing her thumb behind her, Rey says, “Poe just escorted someone looking to advance on me—"

Ben steps out of the lobby looking to listen in on Rey. 

“I’m Rey. The owner and mechanic here. I’m looking for someone to fill a position, that requires multiple tasks. If you are not here for that job, and just trying to get at an unmated Omega. Get the fuck out,” she purrs patting her pistol on her right leg.

“What’s a dainty little Omega doing with a pistol?” The one on the end says, “I bet you can’t even use it.”

Rey pulls it off her leg, points it right at him and says nothing. She’s not aiming at him, but behind him, but he doesn’t need to know. 

“You—what? Are you crazy bitch?”

“Yep—about protecting myself from predators like you,” she confirms and pulls the trigger right as the fucking spider leaps from behind him, blowing it to bits, legs flying over his shoulder and face like thick, hairy sprinkles. 

Everyone but Poe and Rose, who start to giggle, gape at her. Six of them leave, including that idiot that challenged her. Ben, already having a job, wanted this one. He wanted it because of her. Because he felt the need to protect her, to be her Alpha, even though some would speculate that she was the Alpha, but she was a capable, independent, strong Omega, which is exactly what he needed in his life.   
There were four left. 

‘Oh, God, that heavenly...’ “Ben?” she looks confused. “Poe said you’d be in, in the evening to get your car. It’s almost 11am.” She looks at him questioningly. 

“Yeah I took off,” he tried to say casually. 

“You guys better take over from here. I have to assess him-his situation.” There it is again, his must. Mmm yes! Her body starts to scream for him. She lets him hear her accentuated inhale as she passes him. She wants him to know. ‘Just little body pervert’ She admonished the little vixen inside of her. ‘I’ll stab you again, I have to sound like I know what I’m doing.’

Pushing briskly through the door, passing the girls in the lobby, daftly propping open the gate for him, grabbing his chart, “Honda NSX...” she cracks her gum, the girls turn in their seats to look on.   
“Be the goddess you are,” Connix whispers, prompting a giggle from Rose. 

“Thank you for waiting, bad heat—" she shrugs, “This morning, I surveyed her body,” she traces the scratches, pointing out the obvious, “‘left light is crumbling because it’s not a metal- it has to be special ordered,” she purred pointing out the obvious distinction. That’s the first thing, second,” she takes a breath in his stance, looking up at him, “I took her through a systems check.”  
“I saw.” He clenches his teeth, “I was here.” He sounds like he’s panting to keep him from exploding at her. 

‘What the hell is he growling at?’ she thought. She switched gears to her ‘matter-of-fact mechanic glaze’ she used for all assholes. He seemed to notice her shift wondering where Aphrodite went. ‘She’s caged right now so I can deal with you, mother fucker’ her body language changes. 

“Oh no,” Rose noticed. 

“Rose, they’re adults,” Connix implored, “Rey is packing whether she’s loaded or not she’ll still kick his ass if he so much as uses the wrong tone. Don’t worry, she’s got this.”  
“Either breathe like a normal human or go beat off in my bathroom and come back when you’re done.” She says low to him, “I have work to do.” Rey saunters away from him, pressing a code into her remote, lowering his car to the floor. She tosses the clip board on the table, cracks her gum catching a glimpse of the girls gaping at her. She rolls her eyes, punching in another code starting the lift, pulling up the slack to a height she could work with. 

Rey is downright ignoring him, turning up her speakers- high as they’ll go, hearing “Young and Menace” by Fallout Boy scream under her ears. She unzips her coveralls to the waist as she had them before, tying it tightly in a knot.

Fluently opens the door, popping the hood, returning to the front and easing it up onto its hook. She makes short work of removing the debris throughout it, making that awful gravel churning on metal sound that the engine gritted out to her during the drive. 

He watches her bend over his car, her ass waving in his face, imagining what fucking her would feel like. Her scent is so strong and she’s not even in heat. Those damned coveralls aren’t doing her body justice. He knows it. He can’t even imagine what her legs look like but if her upper body was any indication of her make up there, he wouldn’t be surprised. He hums internally, imagining putting his hands on her, squeezing her side with one of his giant hands, and slapping his other one against her flesh, making it red and rosy, ‘I bet she’s the type to scream too’ he smirks at himself.

“Fuck!” she spits, “We’ll here’s your problem,” Rey doesn’t even look at him, pulls up her knee, sliding it against the opening, leaning in that much further, changing the angle of her rear in his presence. She shoves her tiny hand into the crevice trying to remove the clumping of tar and gravel that made its way into the engine block, moaning as she pulls her body back up. 

His breathing is ragged. “Don’t do that.” 

“Do what?” she turns to look at him, hating his tone, realizing his stance is changing trying to handle his massive growing girth. Smirking, she stalks up to him, biting her lip as she does, ‘I’m going to have to call this Alpha an ambulance if he doesn’t listen and go beat off somewhere.’ She pushes him back into the gate, extending her finger tips into his lower abdomen, just above his waist, whispering, “Alpha...if my moan is going to launch you into oblivion, then maybe you should come back later, _m-a-t-e..._ ” 

Another song cues up, soft plucking of a guitar by the Foo Fighters, “Everlong” one of her favorites. She lifts herself to her toes, but it’s not enough. She grabs his waistband, hoisting her knee up onto his thigh like she’s climbing the lift. She swiftly moves over his body, hanging her lips just above his, adding, “Or maybe you can’t wait,” she licks her bottom lip, letting out an appreciative groan when he grips her ass, pulling her into him. She leans down and kisses him, burring her free hand in his hair. Rey’s skin feels a little too hot from their moment. She pulls back from him, softly reminding him where he can go, “If you can’t use the bathroom in the front, use my room. Key’s in the basket by the door.” She feels herself immediately react to his touch, feeling slick, knowing she can’t during the work day.... she releases him, sliding down his body. 

He grunts at her again, obviously stunned by her, pulling her back into him, he licks her mating glands, so slowly she comes. “Well then- you’re going to have to wait. I have to change.”   
He’s done listening to her, “No, Omega,” he pulls her up over his shoulder and heads to her room. Rey realizes her friends gaping at her. 

Connix gives her two thumbs up and mouths ‘HAVE FUN!’ 

Rey blushes the shade of red on the accents of his car. 

“Unrefined is fucking right,” she tries to say under her breath.

Ben swats her hard in the ass, and he notices her wetness though her coveralls, “That’s right Omega,” she squirms as she gushes again. 

“Rey!” she growls. “Say my name if you want to touch me,” gasping at his hold around her. 

He says nothing as they reach the stairs. He doesn’t attempt to hold the railing or put her down in any way. He’s staking his claim, showing as the strongest male in vicinity of her. No one was going to take her- only him. His breath is ragged breathing in her scent, she smelled the way she did when she was in heat last time, he’d seen her, just not as potent. His blood was screaming through him, dying to reach her door. He turns so she can get the key and rips it from her hand thinking he can get into her room faster. 

The key gets stuck. 

REALLY?!

Rey hits his hand, and silkily shoves the key in as far as it will go before it releases. Removing it, she jiggles the handle before reinserting the key the right way, turning it almost all the way around, before releasing the doorknob to him. “There you go, babe—"

‘There’s that word again! Why do they all call each other babe? And now she’s saying it to me. Is it a joke? Is she teasing me?’ He only grunts about it shoving them into the door. 

Her room is tiny and he’s fucking appalled that she lives like this closing the door with his foot. He’s still as he notices the setup. 

“Blinds?” he asks, not wanting to give a show.

“There aren’t any. I live alone. Here.”

He’s mad at this. 

“Don’t judge me based on what I have,” her words cut through him as if she can hear his thoughts. “Downstairs you treated me differently, and now that you see where I sleep, magically I’m not that enticing any more, right?” 

He slides her off his body onto the half-sized dresser, his erection is starting to tame itself. 

She nods, “Exactly. Get out of my room... use the bathroom downstairs or go home.”

No.

“Rey...”

“Your car will be done in two days.”

“But—I—"

“The thing you need is behind you,” she nods at the door. Rey pulls at her dresser for a new nude colored thong, and short pink spanks. She closes the drawer. Keeping her eyes low, she’s undoing her laces to remove her boots. Pulling off one, then the next and dropping them to the floor, almost echo in the silent space around them. She pops off of the dresser with her clothes still fists in her hand, she stares up at him until her turns. But he doesn’t go. 

He hears her untie her sleeves from her waist and unzip the remaining coverall off of her. She steps out of it. Pulling off her soaked spanks, thong and she realizes her headphones are still banging out music, while she steps out of them. She vaguely notices Ben’s head shift, realizing the songs she listens to weren’t just for a good beat, they had to do with something she was going through. Before he knew it, she was dressed again, balling up her clothes, letting down her hair, probably to hide her scent glands, boots unlaced, but tucked in to the sides of them so she wouldn’t trip, pulling on fingerless leather gloves, and putting Connix’s Aviators back on. 

“Rey...” Ben gulped knowing she was the firecracker that would burn him right back if he ran his mouth about something he didn’t understand. Her set up was something he thoroughly didn’t understand. How could someone as tenacious as her live in a place like this? Her shop is immaculate, albeit dirty, but clean as far as a mechanics shop goes.

She slept on a cot - a cot... and she didn’t mind bringing him up there. Like she didn’t think it would be... his words fail him. Of everything he wants to say to her, he can’t seem to say anything but her name.   
She doesn’t recoil, she doesn’t bark at him the way that she does with other Alphas. Instead she walks past him, opening the door, singing lowly to her songs, holding the ball of her clothing as she passes, dropping it off the landing before the cat walk:

_“Lately I been, I been losing sleep  
Dreaming about the things that we could be...  
But baby I been, I been prayin' hard  
Said no more counting dollars  
We'll be counting stars...” _

She walks away far enough that she can’t hear her and climbs the ladder in the center putting her hands on the hot rungs to close the hatch. He watches on as she pulls it down hard, realizing she’s protecting the giant sunspot that would undoubtedly burn into his black paint below. There’s two more that she adamantly walks over to, closing before she drops down over the secondary lift in the corner ‘just so she didn’t have to walk over to him and get caught up in an emotion she was trying to suppress no doubt,’ he admonished himself.

He looks down at her, she’s got both her headphones on, jumping from the side of it off of it completely when he sees that asshole ginger behind her when he emerged from the bathroom earlier. He grabs her and Ben loses his shit. His lungs suck in a huge breath and he thunders a roar through the hangar, his huge frame all but flies down the stairs. His dark hair flipping back behind him, striding in what feels like a handful of steps. His eyes jet black in a deathly fury, he doesn’t see that Rey’s already downed him. 

He blinks at her, realizing the ginger was no match for her, she strides up to Ben taking his hand and walking out to the pool. She wasn’t worried about that idiot in there.   
“Well, well, well, Rey... if I didn’t know any better...” Connix said cheekily, “babe, I’d say you’re glowing!”

Rey leans over by her ear, releasing Ben, he’s noticeably irritated by it, “nothing happened-tell you later,” she kisses her cheek, pulling up, “Where’s Poe? Redhead is laid out on the floor.”

“Cooking,” nodding at the grill, “Why not let your giant do it?”

“‘Fraid he’ll kill him,” she purses her lips. “Why don’t you have a seat—" still not sure of what to make of Ben. He looks like he sports a temper, but he’s in control, unlike the animals that come through. She walks up to Poe, nudging him playfully, “Hey. I can handle this - can you take care of the red head? He came back and was hiding by the lift.”

Ben watches them, there’s a palpable fire in his eyes, he’s quiet and steady. He watches Poe smile at her as if he had a chance. How close he would have been if he knew how they met. How he watches her laugh at him as she says God only knows what. Poe hands her the tongs giving her a nudge back, a sway at the hips bumping hers awakening his muscles, once again ready for the kill. 

“Don’t burn ‘em,” Poe laughs pulling his thumb from his mouth, “like last time.” 

As he passes, Ben hears Rey say, “too right, nothing could save ‘em,” she giggles. “Unrefined, right. Right. Right,” she almost snorts. Even at that distance, he wants to hear it again. All the time. He gets up and moves around the pool towards her. She makes a grimacing face still trying to get the handle of grilling chicken. Sensing Ben, “it is not as easy as it looks.” 

He closes in around her from behind, it’s all he can think of right now, in the heat, next to the flames of the grill, she leans back into him, “you’re going to burn your friend’s chicken,” he teases.   
“Oh! We’ll! If you know how to cook then by all means,” she offers him the tongs.

He laughs, pushing them back to her, “I may know a thing or two around a grill, but you need to learn. Chicken is easy. Wait until the chicken is mostly white on top, even when you’ve applied the heat to the bottom,” pointing at the breast examples on the rack. “Then when it’s about 80% white, flip it for like five minutes. You can put more sauce on it while the other side is in the flame.”  
His information earned him a smile. To think, an alpha that can teach and cook. ‘I may never starve.’ She shake the thought. ‘I don’t starve now, I’m just fine, but it’s a nice little daydream. Speaking of day dreams,’ “am I really unarmed letting a huge alpha hover over me? I must trust you...”

Gasp! 

She straightens fast, “You’re on chicken!” She runs fast around the pool. Slamming into the door, “POE!!!” 

Poe?

Connix jumps and runs after Rey, sliding a little bit. Ben has the wherewithal to turn off the grill and run after them. He can’t make it through the door since Connix slid and fell. All he can see is Rey in the middle of the dark hangar now. Poe looks like he’d had better days. His head is hanging forward but that’s all he can see. Ben picks up her friend and puts her outside pulling the door shut after him. He slinks through the shadows looking at the other alpha when he hears her. Her cockiness flares through her like a phoenix engulfing itself in each fiery rebirth. 

“What do you want, Alpha?”

‘Did MY Omega just call him that?’ Ben swears he’s going to kill this man. 

She steps forward, “I see, you found my piece,” Poe smirks knowing her potency when she stalks something, she doesn’t want... how enticing she can be. Blockers won’t save you from Rey. Even being a virgin, he knew that when she played the game, you never knew when she was going to strike. Ben, however, didn’t. She knew he was in the shadows. He’d only figured out that her music held a message. She cracked her now stale gum, “Do you know how to use it?” She touches her mating glands and lets out a coo, “Should I show you?”

Everyone in the building stops breathing and she asks, “Please, Alpha, tell me what you want from me...you gonna bind me,’ she tilts her head back slightly, “like you said this morning?” Her voice cracks as she slowly lowers can bending from her waist to her boots. Her back is perfectly flat when she bends. Ben’s mouth goes dry.

“What are you doing?”

“Stripping.” She says plainly, pulling her laces from her boots. Balling them before stepping out of her shoes, she pads up to him, “You know,” she pauses, “I don’t even know your name, Alpha,” she says distracting him from his thoughts.

“Ar—" he swallows, “Armitage.”

Rey’s music changes finally to her seductive shit turning that up until it’s banging enough to liquify her fluency. She hums appreciatively. 

‘She’s a pure goddess,’ Ben can’t look away. Her sculpted legs hold her in a perfect pose... he’s stunned, furious that she’s doing this for some fucktard that she’s beat down twice already though... and it’s unfolding before his eyes. 

“Okay, Ar-Armitage—" she pulls her tank up over her head, slowly pulling it over her sinew, over her headphones, over her head, up into her hands, hiding her boot strings, “I have the bindings here, I just need you,” she breathes, “Alpha...”

Ben grits his teeth wanting her to only say that to him. He’s ready to make his move. He sees it in his mind, pulling her onto him like he did before...and crushing the Ginger’s head within his bicep curl. His eyes flash at him when he starts to move towards her.

Armitage starts to move from Poe letting him slip to the floor.

“Talking Bodies” by Tove Lo is blasting a chorus. It sends Rey into primal mode -letting out a groan. She starts to sing as she stalks him. 

Now that Poe’s laying out of reach of Armitage, Rey gives her lethal look hanging her head to the right. Ben remembers her doing that to him the little terror she was that night. 

“You’re an idiot,” Poe laughs on the floor. Rey’s seduction is over. “She’s the rattlesnake waiting in the sand," he said. 

Rey smiles. Swiftly reaching up and covering the gun, pulling her purposely in to his chest, stretching her pistol out of her range, and in a series of mixed martial arts moves she’s got it tied up in her shirt, throwing it to the floor towards Ben. She’s not done. Armitage is built but Rey loses her fucking shit, she covers all the fighting styles she’d ever covered since coming here. _“This is my home!”_ she punches him in the ribs, he retreats backward after the blow. _“This is my family!”_ She shoves him, elbow striking him over his head between his shoulder blades, out it comes as she shouts more! Ben finally understood who they were to her, and she gave all she was to them, because she lost something, he was sure of it... _"No one is taking them away from me!! ”_ Another punch to the ribs, and out comes the shoe laces she pulled, she catches his wrist, tying it, turning back into him, bashing him with the back of her head, followed by a jab in his throat with her elbow, which is the last blow before he falls. She binds him, shoving a knee down in his spine, growling as she ties the other arm to the first, _“Not you, or any other bastard on this Earth will! Consider yourself warned.”_ It all happens within minutes, leaving the guys dumbfounded. 

Lethal isn’t a strong enough word for Rey.

She lifts him by the binding like the tires earlier this morning.

Ben emerges grabbing him by the hair after Armitage tries retaliating by biting at her neck. ‘Thank God for my Alpha- Ben- my headphones’ she thought, but the red headed shark attack still scared her. Ben took him in rage and started throwing him around, then hauled him out zip tying him to the fence with a hot bottle of water just out of reach. Ben wasn’t that much of a savage, but bent to Armitage, telling him if he ever tried to claim her, he would die the moment it crossed his mind.

He walks all the way back to the hangar to find her with her shirt back on.

Good.   
She helped Poe up and into the bathroom to see what happened. “I’m not a doctor Poe. I’m a mechanic, but you need to get stitches, I’m almost positive.”

Connix is in there too, she makes a nervous gagging sound, “Is that your skull?”

“Does it make me look dangerous?” 

“Right now, it makes you look like Swiss cheese.” Rey giggles. 

“Swiss is the coolest cheese.” He says as if it’s a definitive vote of coolness. 

“Connix, I have to take him and the asshole to the hospital, do you think we can fit everyone in the truck?”

“Yeah. Console goes up in the front so we could be able to bind Armitage to the passenger door...”

“I’ll drive. Let’s go.” Roared Ben. He’s still frustrated with her little show and calling that son-of-a-bitch Alpha. 

“Hold this Connix, help your mate, babe.” Rey says leaving the bathroom.

Ben looks like he’s made of stone. He regards her coolly. She touches him, softly, waiting for him to recoil from her. He doesn’t. She moves her hands over his stomach, up over his chest, up to his shoulders. She jumps onto him, starring at him, finding his level of understanding. She thrusts herself at him, squeezing at his shoulders, pulling his hair and nipping at him. He squeezes her ass cheeks but releases her.

“Later,” he assures her as she catches her breath. “Can’t let Poe bleed out.” he says. 

——  
Rose left early to meet Finn at the airport, “What do you mean you all went to the hospital? I can’t leave you for a moment! Rey. Don’t start anymore fights- I swear to God it’s the Goddess in you that makes you do that—"

“Rose, woah slow down. We’re not all hurt. Had to make sure the instigator got here. I might start a pole with the nurses to see if they’ll add a number on the ‘feelings’ chart for him. Plus, Poe really got walloped. Connix never gets queasy around blood and guts... but I mean you could clearly see— “  
“GODDAMNIT REY!!” Connix hurls. 

“Poe’s gonna be fine, babe,” braiding her hair to calm her. “You know he was an idiot before he met you. When I met him, he legit crashed into the side of my building, and you know how I handled all Alphas back then.”

“Who could forget? You’ve protected us for so long...”

“You fed me. You gave me a sense of belonging. I didn’t have anyone or anything. I knew a harsh world...one praying on innocent children —-and it finally woke up the bitch inside me. I was barely surviving without you guys, because you were the only thing I ever needed. You became my family... I will always go in for the kill if necessary. Today was necessary.” Rey finishes the braid.

Ben looks down at Rey and they share an unspoken understanding. 

Poe’s patched up, “Thirty-one stitches in total—" he leans, “probably far less then you buddy.” He slurs talking to Ben. 

Connix starts to giggle, “Hopped up, are we? Were you discharged?”

“Discharged? Connix-you dirty girl- you know I don’t do that. You do!” He starts to snicker, “Ow my head,” He looks down, “Yea that one too, both heads.” 

“Ok that’s enough.” A nurse gives Connix the paper work explaining his meds and that he needs to do less physical work for the next two weeks. “The inner layers of stitches will disintegrate as he heals but the top layer will have to come out around that time too. You can go to your doctor or urgent care for that. For pain, use what he’s used to. If it’s really bad give us a call, he’ll need to be looked at again before a prescription can be given.”

“Ok thank you,” she says sweetly. 

“Wait a minute! If you’re here, you killed my chicken.” Poe sounds distressed.

Rey takes a deep breath... “How about pizza then?”

Everyone agrees. Pizza it is.

—- 

Ben keeps a tight hold on Rey who needed steadying when Armitage wakes. She looks like she’s ready to kill again, in front of the entire hospital staff. For being completely controlled at her place, she’s damn well passed that now, listening to that bastard make every indication that she’s lying. “You’re just mad a little Omega bested you three times in the same day. You were thrown out in the morning and you still came back. Say another word or step on my property again and you’ll be in court for abuse, assault and endangering an Omega so fast so fast your head will spin!” 

For a little twig of a woman, she knew her shit. It drove Ben crazy. God the fantasies he kept having of her. If he kept it up, he’d be requesting a gurney too. He finally got her away from all of it, drove back to the shop and excused themselves to Connix and Poe. “I’d like to talk to my mate,” Rey winks at Connix pulling the key to the shop from her bra. 

“You kinky little thing.” Connix wrinkles her nose at Rey. 

“No pockets. Order yourselves whatever pizza you want. Use what’s in the register, it’s on me. Don’t let him go in the pool.”

Connix nods, walking off with Poe.

Rey moves to pull Ben to her in the passenger seat, but he doesn’t move. 

Fine. 

She crawls over to him, straddling on top of him, her right leg now trapped between the seat and the door. “Ben.” He stares at her, she turns off and pulls off her headphones and tosses them in the back of the cab. She wants him to know he has all of her attention. “Ben please,” he blinks at her, “please tell me what you need.” He breathes in sharply but doesn’t answer her. The blasting air conditioner is all they hear. It goes on for what feels like hours, so she just makes her moves, apologizing for the day, things she’d done admittedly for his attention, not for him being mad at her cot, because that’s ridiculous, but obvious things he wanted answered, like why the fuck the girls all call each other ‘babe’, how long she’s been alone, why she didn’t have a home, a real family to love her, why she built the garage in the first place, everything he wanted to know he let him know. Everything she released to him would set him off. A flurry of emotion, setting off his carnal need to change these things for her.   
He’d grind into her deliciously against her vaguely remembering she had basically nothing on. Those spanks were so short they really did nothing but over accentuate her firm ass that once squeezed would send Rey reveling at his touch, pouring slick, unbiased all over him. His jeans were soaked in minutes with her grinding into him, their teeth clashing as they tried devouring each other. She pulls up his black t-shirt, pulling him closer to her to get it all the way off of him. “Oh~ she groans in appreciation, placing both hands on his neck, softly moving her hands down his pecks, leaning in begging him with every bold lick, she moans into him, nipping down his chest as far as she can before beeping the horn on the steering wheel with her rear. At first, she’s spooked by it, popping up from him and looking around, but returning to him seeing a smile at his lips she reaches down for the chair lever dropping it well into the back seat. “Ben,” she breathes.

“Rey...”

“Please .... _fuck me._ I’ve been aching for you since the night I met you. Please- I need you...” she opens his fly.

“You-you’re soaked! And mine, no one else’s! No more of that seductive shit for anyone but me.” In one swift move he rips out the inside of her spanks leaving soaked scraps of it on the passenger’s side floor. He destroys the thong like it was just a thread of nothing he had to snap, she’s sopping between her folds and he lets out an appreciative howl quickly plunging two of his long, thick fingers deep within her. If he thought he knew what Rey’s moans sounded like before, he had no idea what he was unleashing by engaging her. So many years of no mate and then this - words fail her.

“Ben!! Please!” She screams his name as he circles her walls, thumb rubbing her clit, “Aaahhh—" she screams.

“Don’t come, Rey,” he plunges another finger into her keeping his rhythm. Rey grinds down into his knuckles, she moans so loud it sets her over, coming all over his hand. He makes a sound as if he’s just teasing her about her release. “I think you came...” he says pulls her through her orgasm. 

There’s ringing in her ears and she blinded for a moment at how good it feels to be his. He removes his fingers from her soaked cunt and spreads them enjoying the amount she shared, she catches his wrist before he pulls it into his mouth, and looks him in the eye, as she drags her tongue up his middle finger, to the tip, and softly biting his finger pad like it was a spatula that she just wiped up brownies with. 

His eyes focus on her like heat seeking missiles. He presses his fingers down into her mouth. “Fuck” he groans. He lets her open his jeans and pull out his huge, swollen cock. She admires him. Stroking him a little tighter with each pass to his head groans at her. Just the thought that he needs her the way she needs him draws more arousal from her, which seems to pour out of her in almost a constant stream. Rey rubs his pre-come over his tip with her thumb then leans down and licks it.

“REY!” he shouts her name as she squeezes him tighter and sucks harder. “Fuck!” He groans as his hands grip into her hips lifting her whole body and slamming her cunt down on his huge cock.   
She screams his name while she tilts her head back, looking straight up into the old truck’s disintegrating cloth ceiling. For a moment he thinks he’s hurt her, and doesn’t move, his huge length, finally, finally where he belongs. She feels like she came just from his impressive strike into her body but has no intention to slow down. Not now. Not when she’s sure that this man was made for her. 

“Yes,” Rey chokes out starts to grind into him, “Please, Ben-Alpha,” she stares at him “Fuck me into oblivion... I’ll be a good omega,” she grinds into him, “listen to you, let you protect me- sometimes,” he slaps her ass for that, hard, she hisses, “knot me Ben...mark me,” she moans picking up speed, “make me yours so everyone knows I belong to you.”

He pulls her down, bucking up into her hard and fast, “yes, yes! Ben,” she sighs while he continues to build her back up again. “Please, as—” she begs him, “as hard as you can!” 

Rey’s lost all sense of who she is while riding his cock. It all just seemed like a cruel joke not having a bond such as this. All those heats alone made her feel like being an Omega was complete shit. Being horny nearly monthly was just not worth the hype. For years she hated her body. Her designation was so stupid. There were times that she wished she could just double over in pain like the girls did, eat a pint of ice cream and curse for a week without having to deal with shots or getting shitty looks from the delivery guy, who most certainly knew regular supplies over the black taped boxes of toys she’d have to replace more frequently than she wanted. But this… This is new. Never in her life did she think a cock could help get her over. But Ben isn’t just some penis she trusted. Rey’s positive that he’s more. 

It’s that fact that has her squeezing and pulling at her nipples reveling in the joy that surges through her watching him pump into her with such force. So close, so achingly close she lets go of her chest, bracing herself on his shoulder, staying upright so he can watch her play with her clit, she comes hard on him, and feels the last thrust of his swelling cock pour his come up into her. Rey screams, just screams in the pure delight of this man, her alpha claiming her like this, orgasm after orgasm sitting on his generous knot. 

“Ben?” she tries his name when she finally comes back down from cloud nine.

Ben hums his question, not entirely ready for a conversation yet, but he humors her. 

“Please mark me,” she purrs. 

He smirks, “You need a bed first.”

“Fine,” she replies. Leaning onto him lazily, she continues, “It’ll have to wait then.”

“Why?” he asks stroking her back. Ben did not expect her to allow this to wait. Then again, how could he possibly know her? He doesn’t.

“I have to take apart your engine.” Rey says nonchalantly. 

Ben frowns and pulls her face up to look at him, asking, “Why?”

“I’m not sure who taught you to drive, but most of us leave uncured paved roads alone.” Rey smirks at him. It truly is amazing to her that an Alpha doesn’t know much about machinery or cars for that matter. Every last one of them seemed to. It was the man thing… that is… until they all started showing up needing repairs.

Rey continues telling him what’s wrong with his car, “You have a tarry, loose pavement substance that scattered all over the engine, but the pistons - that’s where a lot of the problem lies. If it doesn’t get cleaned, and you go to drive it...” she chokes on her words. “Your fancy car will go up in flames.” 

He tightens his grip on her, “Oh—wait! You drove it like a psychopath—”

“And?” Rey asks. 

“You could have died.”

“No?”

“What do you mean, no?”

“I’ve been doing this a long time. I know what I’m doing and when to stop. But you? We can’t be having that—not for you,” Rey says when she sees the Pizza guy fly up the road. She shrugs on his shirt. Smelling it, for once in her life, she finally feels like she’s protected by someone other than her family. “Can I keep this?” she asks him.

“So long as we keep each other.”

“Deal.”


	2. Revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After enjoying themselves, Rey realizes who Ben is. She welcomes him in as part of her family, as her mate, even though she’s not marked. Yet. 
> 
> Finn isn’t happy about it but decides to try for Rey. As the evening passes, they get to know each other better during dinner. And then... Rey has an indication of a heat relapse...

Rey grabs the bits of her clothes he ripped from her, “Guess I’ll have to detail this one later,” she laughs as she pops out of the truck to him in the lot. ‘He’s shamelessly good looking in his crotch soaked jeans,’ she can’t help her grin. 

He turns back to the truck to get her headphones for her and pulls up the seat, before closing the door. He looks down at her staring back at him. He’s trying to figure out that look. What was it that she saw in him that she couldn’t- didn’t want to look away from? Her eyes would move over him slightly, but back into his eyes. She’s trying to piece something together and he subconsciously thinks she’s wanting the story about his scars. He knows he can’t cover them all so he stands there waiting. 

She doesn’t speak. She’s still trying to figure it out. The sun starts to set in wildfire oranges and reds that blister beautifully over the landscape. 

“Ben?” She whispers. “Ben S-o-l-o?” She sounds out his name dropping to inaudible.

“Yes?” He asks carefully. 

“I -I know you...” for a woman that stopped crying long ago, stifling back a whimper seemed to be the hardest damned thing she’s ever done. 

“What do you mean? I’ve never met anyone like you.” He says softly to her closing the space between them.

“I wasn’t like this back then.” She pauses as she admits more about her past. “I was a scared, beaten little girl.” His eyes widen. She gulps knowing she hadn’t told even her family everything that happened. “I know I was sold, and often. In the beginning, I held a higher price because I was a baby girl. And as I grew up, I’d been an object to people. They weren’t my family- men mostly...” she feels his stance change regarding her, “nothing like that. I’m a virgin-we’ll was until you.” She smirks. 

He picks her up into his arms and she touches his face, “Do you remember where you got this scar?” trailing her fingers softly down his face onto his chest.

“I was a boy,” he swallows hard. She feels him trembling beneath her. He closes his eyes tightly, and then opens them, looking through her, into his past. 

“That look.” He stills. Only his eyes shift back to her, “You’re the boy from my nightmares.” She whispers. 

He blinks at her. 

“I know you..” she whispers again. “You were there...” Fear radiates from her as she traces it. “I was seven. The last sale of the day. There were other kids in the truck, all smaller than me, with tags on them like they were selling cattle. Babies were screaming in halved beer boxes. Probably for food. They didn’t know not to. I was three, almost four when I stopped asking for things- even food. This sale wasn’t to a good home either. I remember being blinded-a dark colored cloth bag would usually be used.” She can feel Ben hold her tighter, “I never saw the outside of the building. Only inside. They dropped me and I knew not to move. The bag was taken from my face and they pulled a clump of my hair with it.” She clears her throat, still entranced by his scar, “I don’t remember crying, but before they could do anything else, I remember search lights swelling through the dark blue haze of the night, people scattered when some huge dark figure came from the back. I backed up in fear and knocked over some furniture or something. I couldn’t tell. But a boy ran into him to protect me. The figure hit him and he dropped... had it been me, I’d of been killed for sure- I was a runt of a thing. Police? Maybe... stormed in taking the figure and children around me. I went to find him- the boy-you...the police grabbed me, then you...I thought you died. I was shoved into the foster care system after that. But I see your eyes, and this cut, every night. How did you survive?” A single tear falls from her cheek.

“Rey...” he had no idea this was her life, this beautiful fire starter ... how? “You were in an abandoned building. My friends and I were just being rebellious and decided to go in. We were trespassing, and not careful, the police were following us - we were going to get caught either way and then I saw you, a little girl that had no reason to be there. I saw them drop you— “ he closes his eyes, “He smelled awful like he was on something and had every intention to destroy the evidence-you. I remember kicking in the door when he backhanded me with something sharp-I was sure he cut my head off. During the police raid, they took me to the hospital and my parents went crazy when they found out. There were movements to find the human trafficking cartel and there were people freed but my parents pretty much hid me from society until I joined the Marines and shipped out” He stops. 

“Ben-“ Rey kisses his scar, “Please stay with me.”

Trying to lighten the mood, “I don’t think your cot will hold me,” he teases. 

“Pffffff” Rey starts to giggle. “Touché...How much are beds these days?”

The fact that she doesn’t know much else other than her shop and mechanics, has him baffled. “Well it depends on the size...” he flops his head to the side.

“I guess we’ll have to measure my room then,” she laughs planting a kiss at his lips.

——  
Finn and Rose are finally on their way back from house hunting, driving through the parking lot, seeing Rey kiss a man. 

“What did I miss, Rose?” He sounds serious, like an older brother that’s ready to mutilate this half naked man with his little peanut. 

“Quite a bit. Peanut is growing up.”

Finn doesn’t like it. He considered himself her older brother. The levelheaded one in the family unit. “How’d they meet?” He watches her straddle him, holding his waist with her knees, wearing his shirt -‘what the hell happened to her clothes?’ practically devouring him, his hands at the small of her back, his huge biceps curling around her, when he spies a what looks like a Marine Corps seal tattooed to it. 

Rose is explaining and noticing he’s not listening so she hollers a cat-call out the window.

“Rose! REALLY?!” He strains. 

Rey smiles in realization to Rose’s sounds, down into his lips. She cradles his head with her left hand and waves to her friends with her right, leaning her forehead down into his. “Come on Alpha, let’s feed you...”

Walking back to the hangar, Rey realized Finn was in the car. 

“HI! Finn! Welcome home!!” She’s so happy everyone is together again. 

He smiles, “Peanut!”

‘Peanut?’ Ben wonders if that’s in reference to when she called herself a runt.

“Rose tells me you’ve had an interesting week,” He looks up at Ben instead of her. 

“I- well, to sum up the whole week- I guess it has been. Oh! Finn,” she hurriedly locks his arm with his, “This is Ben,” she smiles cutely. 

“HER MATE!!!!” Yells Connix from the pool as Poe walks back to get another slice of pizza. 

Rey laughs goofily. Her blush brightening when she looks at him. 

“Ben, this is my brother Finn.”

Finn makes it awkward trying to explain who is who but basically Finn and Poe considered her brothers and Connix and Rose fluctuate between being sisters and the motherly units, and Rey well, she’s everything. 

“Aw, well isn’t that sweet, yeah?” She smiles. 

“Now what would that make Ben if he joins this group,” asks Finn.

“What do you mean ‘if’?” Ben watches her. She looks like she’s floating around in his shirt. ‘Is she defending me against her family?’ “And he’s my mate.” Knowing full well she hasn’t been marked yet, “I don’t think I could honestly fuck my brother,” she laughs, “could you?” Ben’s eyes widen at her remark.

“Rey!” Rose is bubbling out laughter. “Oh my God I fucking can’t!” Catching her breath, “You always go too far!”

“I’m not wrong.” She laughs and watches Ben’s face soften watching her stick up for him. “Pizza’s getting cold, let’s go eat. We can talk later- I’ll be out in a little bit.” She walks up to her room. 

Finn watches Ben smile at her and lets her go alone. Very unlike him in the stance of an Alpha, maybe he did have real feelings for her aside from the obvious biological needs that everyone seemed to want from her. Finn gets the plates and tries striking up a conversation, knowing Rey will be pissed if they don’t welcome her decision since Rey never settled on just anyone, and they were well protected by her for so long he would try for her. Rey made sure everything she did was calculated. Finn had an idea of her past but there was so much she didn’t want to share. Ben could see it and it tore at them that she went so readily into this new man’s- his arms. 

Finn clears his throat, offering a plate to Ben, nodding at him, “So you served?” 

Ben looks down to Finn, away from Rey’s door finally, “Yes, Marines - Weapons Company, First Battalion,” his tattoo reads it too. Taking the plate, and walking with Finn to the table, “I served for a few years and had an accident, touching the huge scar on his shoulder. 

“Rey said you were in the service too.”

“Yeah, Air Force Pilot.” He smiles, “I can fly it all, except for helicopters.” He shudders, “I cannot stand those things!”

Ben smiles, “How’d you guys meet?” He asks, wondering what happened to Rey. His brow furrows scenting a pungent smell- certainly one he hasn’t tolerated yet but had smelled before. Outside. Fear. He holds up his hand after he asked, then nodded to Finn to follow him to check on Rey. 

They start carefully up the stairs, “Peanut?” Finn asks, “You alright in there?”

Rey chokes out a sob, “Yes-no. No. Can you please open the door? There’s a spider on it and my pistol is down stairs.” 

Ben bursts open the door, and the damned thing ran out of her room passed the guys and down the stairs. She runs to both of them hugging them but convulsing -she was afraid. 

“Don’t worry Peanut, well spray again and get that fucker.” He goes to close the door, “Rey! Are you seriously still sleeping on that?!”

“What? My cot? Yes?”

“What if I told you that thing is why the spiders come in here?”

Rey snaps back, “I’d tell you, you were full of shit.”

“There’s my girl...” He teases, this agitates Ben but he doesn’t press. He knows Finn is mated. “That fucking cot is why they come in here and plague you. It smells like death and you sleep on it. I know what you came from, but that’s done now. If you’re too afraid to sleep somewhere else, fine but we’re taking care of this shit now.” He stops, “We have a bed in the guest room, if it fits you can have it.”

“Isn’t that your mother-in-law’s when she visits?” Rey asks.

“Yeah,” his smile beams, “when she visits she’ll have to get a hotel room,” he smiles even bigger. 

She shakes her head, “Thank you, you’re a good friend.” 

“Brother, and don’t you forget it- now let’s go eat.” He turns and goes back to get his plate. 

Rey feels Ben’s hand at the small of her back, “Thanks for coming to my rescue, again, Alpha,” she chuckles. They stand at the top of the stairs as Rey recognizes his scent spiked just as much as hers. She closes her eyes nuzzling into his chest, “If it weren’t for the spider ruining the moment, I’d have to say that was the sexiest damn thing I’ve ever experienced. My Alpha, coming to my rescue.” Her words soothes him and she welcomes a nip over her at her neck.

“I’m dying for this,” he groans into the base of her neck. 

She smiles into his cheek, “me too...”

—-  
Food. 

Food’s important. 

Pizza’s cold by now. Rey picks up the remaining two boxes with one hand, holding them at her shoulder, without a word passing the part rack, pulling a thin gauged sheet of metal from it, wishing she had some gum to crack because that’s just how sassy she felt. Those cracks were usually on purpose. The louder the better, snapping it would ignite the space... no gum though...’got to devour Ben,’ she smirks at him, putting the sheet on the boxes, gripping and yanking the side door out to the pool and furthermore, padding to the grill. The walk to the grill had Connix cat calling her, needing the “deeets” about before. She’s crazy. But makes Rey beam so much brighter. 

Finn, Rose, Poe and Ben all follow her out. Poe sits in a chair by Connix, Rose sits at the pool, dipping her feet in the water watching the remainder of the sunset. Finn and Ben stay back a little still talking about the bed situation. 

“I think it’s a full bed- I don’t think it’s been used more than a handful of times,” Finn stops. “Rose’s Mom- she- let’s just say, you’d be doing me a favor taking it for Rey. I don’t think she ever seen a bed before. And honestly, she may still sleep on the ground for a while.”

Ben is bothered by the thought but nods. “How much has she told you about her past?”

Finn loses Ben’s gaze in a thought, “I know it’s painful for her. I know her enough to know not to pry it from her too. She’s guarded, which is the only way she survived. I know she holds onto those headphones and whatever music is on it from years ago. I know she thinks they’re the only things that understand her. She found bits of things - I mean- she put everything here together herself. Everything here...everything is here because she wouldn’t stop trying to change her past. The forge? She was a kid-she made that- it was in the paper years ago that it blew a hole in the side of the hangar. If you actually look at her arms, she’d been burned from a massive explosion and handled it herself just to not be caught and go back to the system.   
The girls met her when she was younger. T-h-e-y dug out the pool...they did so much together that they became her family. By the time I met her she was actively fighting for them. They’d call each other ‘babe’ all the time, it was so much worse back then, but when Rey presented as Omega the girls figured they were protecting her by saying it. Connix, even though she’s a Beta (they both are)...tried scenting her once to get away from a pack of assholes that came through. By then Rey’d been shooting. I don’t know if you’ve seen her accuracy...” 

Ben nods, with a chuckle, “I came to see about my car and she shot a spider to shut someone up. She scared them shitless.”

Finn laughs.

“Why does she hate them so much?”

“She told Rose that she’d been bitten when she was little all over her arms.” His eyebrows lift, “she almost died. I don’t think it was a tarantula though - she hates those because they’re big and jump.”

Ben nods, folding his arms, looking on to Rey. He doesn’t really know what to say. This woman he needed, could have died so many times and still, still got up and fought for herself and her family... he shook internally thinking of all of the weaknesses he had that he’d obsessed over when he was younger. He didn’t have the luxury of complaining anymore. He’d dismissed them all, wanting only to be the Alpha she needed. Help her push all of the pain away when he’s snapped back into the current time hearing Connix speak to Rey. He blinks up at them from his concentration at the cement. 

“Ooo! Good idea!” Connix watches as Rey turns on the grill and shoves the metal sheet onto the rungs, she pops the first box putting whats left of the pie on top of it. Connix is quick to her side, “Let me help you,” she takes the empty box. Rey is able to put the rest of the pizza on the other half of the sheet, breaking down the boxes, lifting the metal and stuffing the boxes down into the flame. She covers the pizza with the grill cover. 

Rey leans her head against Connix’s shoulder. “I’m sorry Connix. I should never have left the pistol out. Are you guys ok?” She reaches her right arm around her lower back, pulling her into Rey’s side. 

“Rey, we’re-we’re good. Poe can’t remember anything yet... more like, speaks like a drunken thirteen year old. I have no idea what you did but I know Ben was pissed, so you must have—“

“I did what had to be done.”

“Like always.” Connix kisses her cheek.

Poe is coming off his medicine- they know because he cat calls the two of them. 

Ben laughs as Rey flips Poe off.

Rey lifts the cover and the pizza looks delicious again. She turns off the grill, Rose gives her a makeshift spatula and puts plates to the side of the grill, on the stand. “Thanks Rose.” She smiles. “Come and get it!”

—-  
As they eat they share stories about when they met Rey or something crazy she did to ward off Finn and Poe initially. 

“Ok, in my defense,” Rey says...

“Babe- you do NOT have to defend your actions. You had to be brutal.” Connix chokes out, “it wasn’t easy... but you never caved. I swear assholes would line the place to find out if the legends were true.” She gushed.

A faint smile played on Rey’s lips. “Yes. But both were -are alphas and the only experience we’d ever had with them was awful. It was like a zombie apocalypse when I presented...every night the same shit. Why do you think there’s a chain link fence behind the front desk? My cot was small enough that I could move it under that little ledge that comes out under the window. I’d sleep under there until I learned how to fight.”

“How did you learn how to fight like that?” Poe asked.

“Jackie Chan videos.” She said plainly. 

A roar of laughter came about them and even Rey was red in the face giggling. 

“The man that owned the hangar before me, Han, he had basically let me live here even when he wasn’t around- which was most of the time.” she smiles at the thought of him and his antics. “He had all this hoarded stuff in the back, that I would fix and of all of it,” she waves her hand, “That’s what would give me my greatest offense...I found all types of videos back there.”

Before Ben can ask about Han, “So if we played a video you could mimic it?” Poe asked. 

Rey grins trying not to be cocky about this. “They’re old videos I’m assuming. I really can’t imagine a fight where people take the time to stare at each other. But there’s really not enough in a scene to do, I just would practice what I saw as reasonable.”

“No shit!?” Poe’s way to excited about this. How did he not know? “If I get it, will you do it?”

“If it’ll make you feel better Swiss cheese.”

There’s more laughter. Ben, who’s had the delight of being close to her this whole time, strokes her back with his thumb. He’s happy for her that he has these people and that she’s as genuine as she is after all she’s been through. 

Poe runs into the back pulling the tv and video station she’d trained with. 

“Oh God,” she groans putting her hand over her eyes, slightly embarrassed she okayed this. She takes off Ben’s shirt whimpering at the loss of his scent, revealing her jean shorts and the black tank she had on before. Standing she rolls the hem to the collar putting it back on Ben, “Keep it warm for me,” she purred. His stare alone heated her deliciously, she kisses his cheek, and lifts to go by the tv. He fucking looks stunned but she doesn’t turn to check. 

“Do you need it from the beginning?”

“Nah just start it anywhere.” She picks up her headphones.

“What are you doing with those?” Finn asks. 

“You’re going to distract me- and you know it.” She says. 

“Show ‘em babe!” Connix hollers. 

Rey shakes her head, putting on her headphones turning it on and up. LOUD. Peaking once at the starting place on the video. She tells Poe to start it. She doesn’t disappoint. Ten minutes in and not even a sweat broken- like she just did trained with that the other day. How would they know? They didn’t-every move was choreographed perfectly-Ben realizes some of her movements from earlier in the day. How precise she was... realizing this WAS her life. Everything she ever knew, she KNEW.

“Ok Poe - you started this so you can stop it now.” Called Rose, “we all know her stamina”.

“Ben doesn’t- let me enjoy this- she kicked that guys ass today it was fucking amazing.”

Ben notices Rey keeps touching her glands between scenes, so he gets up to stop her. His scent slows her. She stops so she doesn’t hit him. He lowers her headphones, “Are you ok?” he asks her darkly.

“I” she closes her eyes touching her glands, “The-they’re burning. Why are they- why?” She keeps touching them. 

“Shiiiit..... The emergency shot Rey.” Rose brought up.

“That’s ridiculous; I had it last week. And I’m back on the suppressants Connix got me every 8 hours to try to regulate it before...” she shivers. 

Ben wraps her in a hug. The heat of his body soothes her. Looking to Finn, “Do you think we can get that bed tonight?”

Finn hopped up, “Yeah.” Finn being an alpha himself knew he’d have to break it to Ben that Rey would not be coming for the ride. “Right now, Rose and I live about twenty minutes out, east... Poe, you better come with us- if Rey’s really having a relapse-“ he shakes his head. “Let’s go.”

“Take the truck! Keys are in the cabinet. And Finn!” Rose calls tending to her friend, “DO NOT LET BEN DRIVE!!” 

Ben is almost seething about Rose’s undertone and not staying to help Rey who is clearly in distress. “BEFORE YOU LOSE YOUR SHIT BEN, you might be a good protector- but you are NOT protecting Rey by losing your shit with us. She’s FINE. She’ll be here when you return.” Rose hisses. “Don’t make me shoot at you...” 

“Rose!” Finn calls back at her from the Lobby. “We’re going to have a ‘talk’ when we get back!- I know your mimicking me!”

Ben reassures Rey he’ll be right back, taking her headphones off of her ears, soothing her, softly crooning at the base of her neck before licking over her mating gland. She gives an appreciative sigh. “Better?” He whispers, traveling to the other one and giving her a bold lick and a nip too. 

Her whole body relaxes. Melting. Not in heat, yet, but melting just the same. He smells her change, as he lowers her into a seat by the pool. “Yes. Thank you Alpha,” she breathes. “Be safe -come home to me.” She reaches to touch his face to calm him, “I’m here and fine, just waiting for you.” She plants a kiss at his lips. 

—-  
The men get to the truck, Poe’s in the back of the cab while Finn is driving and Ben’s got the passenger’s side due to his size alone. 

It’s quiet as they drive off for Finn’s. They know well enough to let him come around to speak since they’ve also been in situations similar to that. Finn thinks about the third time he had to ship out and he had just married Rose. Even though she was no omega, and he couldn’t truly understand what Ben was going through, he could empathize with him a little bit. Having no choice but to leave Rose, be half way around the world, trying to protect her from an impossible distance, he understood that being twenty minutes from Rey was like Ben being shipped out during her heat. 

Poe, didn’t truly get it. He was always with Connix unless she went to work. They lived together after their first hook up. Rey was ready to kill him. Actually, Rey seemed to hate the hell out of Poe for years and finally warmed to him since the past year and a half. He really pissed her off running into her building. The more he thought about it the more he smiled, even let out a strained giggle.

It takes Ben out of his focus. He looks at Finn who is down right laughing.

“What?” Ben asks, “What’s so funny?” 

Finn shakes his head, “just thinking about when Poe met Rey. It took her a long time to deal with you. Didn’t she tase you?”

Poe grimaces holding his chest, “Yeah on several occasions. She REALLY DID NOT like me coming around. I come from a bigger family than they’ll ever know. I have five sisters. Two are alphas and the rest are omegas. I spent a lot of my time protecting them. When I met Rey it freaked me out that she was alone. I don’t think she heard a word of what I said to her because she fucking shot at me. It was pretty obvious she was feral.” He laughs. “I met Connix and it was over. I needed to be around her all the time- even begged Rey to let me work for her so that I could be around Connix all the time. She tased me the first two times I asked.” 

Ben let’s out an amazing laugh that he hasn’t experienced since he was a kid, well before being in that abandoned building.

Finn whips his head from being stopped in traffic, laughing insanely at the sound of it. 

“Yeah guys laugh it up,” Poe rolls his eyes. “Rey would go to war with anyone that challenged their unit. It took a long time for her to trust me, less time to trust Finn since he was there first. What did she see in you Finn that she wasn’t afraid of?”

Finn clears his throat. “When I met her she had just started working in her shop. I needed a new tire- the spare blew out and she saw me trying to push it into her lot. She didn’t have coveralls back then, I suppose it was just too expensive for her. She had a white tank on and had these cargo looking pants on- military grade hanging from her tiny frame, water bottle in one of the pockets, work boots... I could have sworn she was an Alpha when she strode up to me assessing the truck. She fucking looked like she was going to destroy me for trespassing or something, holding this huge wrench over her shoulder and blowing bubble gum. Instead of talking I lowered my eyes to the ground. I felt so weird doing it, but wasn’t going to have a cock fight over egos with her.   
I remember she walked past me, opened her truck’s cab, this one, threw the wrench in like it was nothing, and pulled out a jack and an impact driver. She put her own truck up on cement blocks and took the wheel off of it to give to me. I don’t think she really ever saw me as a threat. Which, nice now, not then. She had me thinking I wasn’t an alpha at all.” He goes to make a left and swears at someone who cut him off.

“But yeah I thanked her and she offered a drink. Maybe out of pity knowing her garage was ‘far off the beaten track’ but then I saw Rose, and I just needed to be around.” He shrugs, “Ok. We’re here.”

Finn’s house is a small ranch. Honestly, accommodating to them but had they wanted to start expanding their coupling to a family-they would need more space. When they walked through the door, Ben had to bend slightly to manage entering. They basically walk into a small living room to the right attached to the kitchen to the left. It looked like the living room was also being held as an office. Well, actually a desk had been used as an end table and workstation, presumably for  
Finn. A hallway split the two, adding space for a bathroom to the left following the kitchen, a bedroom to the right and a door leading to the back yard lined up with the front door. Something Ben hadn’t seen before in a house was that the hall had gone on to the left around the bathroom on a right angle leading to one more bedroom, and that’s where the bed he planned on moving was. 

“How did you even get this in here?” Asks Poe. 

“Through the doors?” Finn said obviously. 

Poe bugs his eyes out. “Okay..”

The guys figure it out and Finn leads them through the house and back to the truck. Ben secures everything in the truck with her netting and bungee cords. Finn takes a couple sheets out of the closet in that room, and hands the pillows to Poe who stuffs them in the cab. “Thanks guys! I will not miss that in there.” Finn contently sighs.

——  
Just after the men left, Connix and Rey helped Rey inside. An impending relapse heat meant Rey’s body was setting out a heightened more powerful scent. Being out doors would not be safe at all. They brought in the chairs and anything Rey touched just in case. Once she was inside Rose escorted her to the bathroom making sure she went and cleaned her face at least keeping Ben’s scent on her for as long as they could. The guys wouldn’t be away for at least an hour and and a half and they had to make sure she stayed safe. Connix made sure that her room was clean and searched for the bastard spider. No spider. She even went as far as checking her drawers in case one was lurking in her clothes. She knew deep down that’s why she always wore thongs. She was deathly afraid of them, and who could blame her? It was human nature to be scared of them and snakes- normal survival instincts. But to be sure she thoroughly searched, even pulled the drawers all the way out too. She checked the fridge making sure she had water and food items in it. There was was water, and orange juice in it. She made note to look for food downstairs. No lurking creatures and no holes for them to get in but aside from under the door. She didn’t want Rey’s fear to spike. If it did the radius would go out for miles until an Alpha came to mate her. ‘That’s Ben’s job’ she thought to herself. She put the lamp on the floor under the cot to drown it a little, that way they didn’t have to sit in the dark. Rose and Rey made sure they grabbed the pistol and a bunch of ammo just in case as well as her remote control and headphones she could play low if she started hyperventilating. Rose also made sure she locked everything. The only people that would be able to get in were the guys through the back. Once Rose had Rey up there, she went down to gather some towels, tacks- so she didn’t bang holes in the wall so they didn’t inadvertently call ‘all the boys to the yard’ she started bobbing to the remainder of the song by Kelis. Admittedly she hated the song but always thought of it before banging - seemed like a normal thing to pop into her head each time. She’d also grabbed some snacks and a flashlight just in case. She skipped up the stairs. They locked the door and blinded the window with towels.

It literally only took 10 minutes to do and there they sat with their strong, lovely friend. 

“So today was a weird day.” Rose struck up conversation first.

They all nodded in agreement. At first it was hard to speak but ‘you know Connix needing every detail’ Rey smiles wildly at her friends. 

“I HAVE TO TELL YOU!” Connix tried whispering a shout. “Ok! Your mate was here earlier this morning, almost basically raging with lust while you were figuring out his car.”

“What? No way!” 

“Oh my God, yes he was! We have never lied to each other-“ snorted Connix.

“That’s not what I meant. I meant-“

“Poe texted me that he saw someone go into the lobby but I was making my rounds so he had to wait.” Said Rose. 

“And why were you here Con’?”

“I took the day off - there was NO WAY I was going to miss this! The second meeting with your possible mate! Plus! I made that appointment for you, that was going to happen - totally worth the docked pay.” Connix explained.

“Yeah I was wondering why you were here,” said Rose.

Rey blushes. 

“Anyways so, apparently he must have seen you before you drove his car because Poe said it smelled like he wanted to fucked in there. I’m not even kidding” she says looking at their faces. “When you went to get started, we were out getting scraps for the forge from the back seriously running amazing scenarios- don’t look at me like that.”

Rey listens intently, “ok, ok..”

“Anyways he was so struck by you he was leaning on the chain link fencing. Where the door is, basically run ragged while he watched you work on it. At first I thought not much of it because you get that response before your heat all the time, but this was different because he knew you were done and still wanted you like that. It was refreshing! Like Alpha-love-lust... like we have but for you. It made me so happy.”

“And then you legit pulled lug nuts from your bra, and he started needing the bathroom, presumably to jerk off.” Rose quipped.

Rey’s jaw dropped, “Oh my God! HE was in the bathroom... and I told you to...”

“Yes!” They all laugh. “Best part was the face he gave when you sucker punched that weasel. He looked like he found the Holy Grail!” Connix continued. “He tried so hard not to but eventually followed you outside. - and you know the bit of your seduction. Holy hell! I wish I thought of that with Poe all those years ago! I’d have him eating out of my hand-“

“He is-“ 

“I know but I mean, Rey- “ words fail her, as she looks up to the ceiling. “Not prying but what were you going to say about after you were in your room.”

“In a word he was appalled by it. He was mad at the fact that I live here, and there weren’t blinds, and my cot. He was so mad about my cot. I basically told him to go, and he didn’t. He respected my space and let me change without staring but his scent spiked into anger, then fear and loss, so I decided not to yell at him. I just did my rounds in the mid afternoon, closing the roof. Of course I had tried protecting myself with my music... I even sang even though I was let down by it all. And then ginger grabbed me by the lift.” 

The girls listen intently. 

“He roared so loud I heard him through my music and seriously was in my face surprised red was on the floor. That’s why I asked for Poe when we came out. I thought he was going to kill him.”

“Rose had gone to get Finn when you were playing - cooking the chicken with him... and then you yelled for Poe. Like you yell for us when we’re being attacked. I thought so many awful things. I tried running after you, but slid and fell. Ben helped me up and out and then went in. What happened in there? 

“Long version or short?”

“Like you have to ask!”

Rey almost snorts. “I used my omega charm, seduced the shit out of him.”

“While Ben was in there? Shit! That’s why he was pissed.”

“At the time he really couldn’t claim me. I was still mad about before but I was even more mad that that asshole hit Poe. As much as I hated him in the beginning, I see you Con’ and I couldn’t let anything happen to him.” She reaches out for Con’s hand, lips curling up as she told them every detail. 

“Shut. Up.” Rose gapes. “And Ben was in there?!” 

“No wonder he was rigid at the hospital. I mean he looked like he was ready to destroy shit. I’ve only mentioned another alpha’s advance to Poe and he went fucking crazy.” She giggles. “This evening seemed to make up for it though.”

“Right! Going to have to detail the truck later,” she blushes. 

The girls start howling in amazement. “So?” They asked at the same time.

Rey smiled even brighter, “for the lack of space - and my lack of experience, I have to say... fucking amazing! I am actually looking forward to a heat!”

The girls start cheering and giggling when a wave hits. Rose’s phone goes off, it’s Finn. “We’re on our way back, love. See you soon.”

“Ok thanks. Love you.”

“Love you too.”


	3. New Territory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey is experiencing a heat relapse and it is becoming more painful than the last she’d experienced. Her family gets her ready for it, extracting a bed from Finn and Rose’s guest room, while the girls take care of her within her room. Ben gets to see their devotion to each other again after this extremely long day. During their time together he reveals more about his life to her and her to him. He makes mental notes for the future, knowing he wants to be apart of every last moment.

‘Heats shouldn’t be like this.’ Rey vaguely can hear herself think. 

The wave is so bad she can barely hear Rose who is on the phone with her sister Paige. “I need you to look something up for me. Are you home?” 

Connix looks up to Rose who is standing against the wall across from them with her arms folded, looking through her bangs, up at the ceiling tiles. “Is she on her way home? It might take her a bit...to...” she realizes Rose is just trying to get through her thoughts. She closes her eyes tight and looks like she’s going to squat in the open when she doesn’t want to hear anyone else. She really needs a new thing-anything... but right now is not the time. 

Rose’s eyes pop open. She listens to her sister apologize, “My computer is slow as shit since the last power outage. Just give me a chance to turn it on and I’ll let you know as soon as I can get on.”

“Thanks, Paige.” 

“Sure. What, um... what happened?” She asks.

“We think Rey is going through a heat relapse.” Rose listens to a faint sound come from Paige on the other line. “Hello?” asks Rose. 

“Yeah... yeah I’m here...” Paige’s voice falls like she’s still handling the thought of a heat relapse. “What happened to her that triggered it? I mean Rey never allowed anyone close to her- I thought she downright hated men. I guess being an Omega can do that to you...” she trails. 

“A guy...”

“Her mate!” Connix is a firm believer of soulmates had to push that right in there confusing Paige into thinking somehow Rey got bested by someone and mated. God that took way too long to sort out.

“No she’s not technically mated, Connix keeps saying it because she wants them to be. Right. Ok can we continue?”

“Yes.”

Rose takes a deep breath telling Paige that a guy had come looking for help at the shop and his scent triggered her heat, advancing her by two days - “which I thought didn’t actually happen- an omega’s body should be ready when she wills it, not when her ‘mate’ does.”

“Right but he may have been that potent to her. Kind of like Omega’s get blamed for setting of Alpha’s ruts. The same can be done about their heats caused by their match’s potential smell,” says Paige. 

Rose hears clacking at the keyboard and figures Paige got the computer working. “Okay, I need you to look up ‘Omega Heat Relapse’ and tell me what comes up.” She hears her sister clacking on the keyboard in response to her command.

“Not a lot came up.” Paige says as she scrolls through the majority of the porn sites claiming to know what a relapse is, “There are four links that describe it, two of which are saying it’s a myth, one that is offering drugs to push an intense heat, and one that says Alpha-Omega’s are extinct and so is the relapse heat cycle along with it.” 

Rose crosses her eyes for a moment, “What the hell is an Alpha-Omega?” 

“I don’t know, let me open the link. Hang on...” Paige waits for the page to load. “Ok, the ‘Alpha-Omega’” Paige over dramatized the topic, “says here they’re the female pack leader. Usually carries a higher count of hormones, can’t be stimulated by a mate unless he produces equal or greater than her number count of pheromones. I’m skim reading because I have no idea what the medical terms are and don’t want to sound like I don’t know how to read,” she laughs. “So basically, if I had to guess, that’s Rey in a nutshell. She-“ words fail her. 

Rose nervously giggles, “Yes that’s basically Rey. What happens after her after she’s mated. Does it vary or are we expecting the same badass?”

“I don’t know, it doesn’t say. I’d think it would have to do with the guy’s levels. You said he pulled her ahead by two days?”

“Yeah.”

“He sounds pretty potent, even for her. He may mellow her out, which might actually help her sleep, and her body form into its voluptuous omega form, instead of the rail she is now.” Says Paige. “It’s all hit or miss though- every one is different.” Theres another pause as Paige yawns. “How is she doing?”

“Well the heat swells are horrendously torturing her. Does that page say anything about relapses?” 

“Barely. It says that Alpha-Omegas can get them and they can come multiple times. So to give an example, say Rey goes through one and then four days later she has another one, it will have a heightened chance of doing it again and again until her body gets what it needs. So denying her from fucking that man that set her off, she got to go through the strong one he started, and then put her body back on the rebound for another go at it over and over again until she’s sated.”

“Shit.”

‘Shit. Shit. Shit. Sorry Rey!’ Rose thinks. 

“Basically Rey is handling what you just said but we can’t fix it- we just see her writhing around like we’re prodding her with branding stamps.” 

“Jesus. Ice I guess. Hope that this passes and you find her mate. I have to go make Mom dinner.” She grunts. “Rose... call me if you need anything else ok?”

“Ok, thanks. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

“So What did she say?” Asks Connix.

“Basically she’s fucked until she gets fucked.” Rose says gripping her phone. 

Connix snorts to hold back from flat out laughing. Poor Rey does NOT need to hear her friends laughing at anything tonight, especially while her body flips shit before them. “Can you maybe elaborate?”

Rose explains what her sister found on the Internet. Connix agrees that Rose’s basic assessment was correct. Fucked up, but correct. 

Fire. Awful burning. Scalding her everywhere. Sweat beads, pooling and dropping off of her making her whine at every maddening cascade. 

How Rey wishes she still had his shirt. His scent would flatline her if it was here without him at the rate that her heat was pummeling her though. All of her senses are spiking. She convulses here and there between full body stretches. Her heart is racing... before she lets out an awful cry.

Connix and Rose start to panic but don’t raise Rey’s suspension about it. 

Rose texts Finn:

Rose: “Where are you?”

Finn: Hit traffic. 

Rose: How far out? 

Finn: About 10 minutes. 

Rose: Lean on the horn! Or call for a police escort! She’s spiking and we’re going to have Alpha’s everywhere! She’s a fucking Alpha-Omega!

Finn: What?

Rose: DRIVE GODDAMNIT!

——  
Finn throws the phone. He hates it when Rose swears. It’s like the worst damned thing to Finn. Ladies don’t talk like that. Sure she’s a gear head- but he does not need to be sworn at by his wife. He’s already trying to keep Ben collected as they get closer to home. His nostrils flare trying to assess the question he can’t ask Rose without her flipping out again. 

“Poe, what the hell is an Alpha-Omega? Isn’t that a mated omega?” Asks Finn over his shoulder. 

“No and they’re a myth, like unicorns and shit-“

“The girls think-“

“Shit-“

They carefully assess Ben who is looking for anything to calm him. He can feel the tenseness hammering through him even at this distance from her. He knows it’s Rey. He knows she needs him. 

His eyes are dilating. 

He’s trying to breathe regularly, but his nostrils are flaring as he strains through it. His hair is prickling all over his body like static electricity is surging through it. 

Finn is lucky the truck has a feature that locks when they started driving because the locking sound going off now would throw him into a mindless rage fit. 

No one says a word until they get back. 

Not a damn thing. 

Ben’s startled to see what the girls have been doing for her this whole time. He looks past the mess of chairs at the landing, piled up the stairs as high as they could go, which they probably learned to during all the other heats. He lunges up the stairs and silkily asks for entry, so as not to scare Rey. He can smell her through the door and wants to break it down, knowing she’s in pain and needs him, but also knowing scaring his mate wouldn’t help him. It would be harder to soothe her. So he patiently waits to be let in. 

Rose lifts to her feet when she hears Finn order Poe around, moving the chairs out of the way. She double checks the window, moving the towels they used as curtains and sure enough they successfully made it through the stretch without any complications. ‘No additional alphas. Thank God!’

Rose tells Rey her mate is here and that he’s going to take over. 

All Rey can do is arch her back whimpering for him. Connix has her on the cot. She’s been brushing back her hair like she’d done so many times in the past. Ice pack on her lap for at least some relief. 

“Ok Ben, I’m coming to the door.” She reassures him. “When you come in, carefully pick her up. She’s been crying at the loss of your scent, and her waves have been the worst I’ve seen for it. I’m unlocking the door, now.”

When she does, he keeps his eyes low, and hugs her, taking her completely by surprise. He moves her out of the way and gets to Rey. He briefly looks at Connix but then down to Rey. Rey whimpers at the relief of him coming back to her. 

He controls himself enough to thank Connix, and pulls Rey from her up to his chest dropping the ice pack to the floor. Rey’s almost limp from the wave that came through before he came back. It felt like forever and she was truly drained for it. She nuzzles in at his neck, letting her instincts kick in, rubbing her brow within the crook of his neck. She whines uncontrollably. Grabbing at his chest as if she needed to be closer-he hummed lovingly, reassuring her that he was here and starting to work her down from her crashing hormones. Soothing her. Licking over her glands relentlessly until she could finally speak. 

“You came home...” She rasps. 

It constricted his heart hearing her say that. That this incredible woman wanted him to be apart of what she had. He couldn’t think of anything more he wanted. 

Ben’s life was restructured through his time in the Marines, but still was plagued with his past. He had no trouble with skill or moving up in ranks. He happened to be incredibly intelligent in many subjects while he served. But his past- never being able to get away from it-mark or no mark... he never seemed to heal from it. 

Now holding this beautiful woman, that he’d protected all that time ago, he feels some peace. She is his saving grace. The only one who can help him erase this pain- make his scar be just a scar, not some reminder of his mortality. Just in the way she touched it outside. The careful caress. The actions he never knew he needed. They came so naturally from her. Even now in her extreme heat relapse, she’s comforted him. Nuzzling him, swirling their scents together, he’s calm. Needs her. But still so much better than before. Better than every day he’s ever lived without her. He thanks fate for devastating his car, finding her-being here...his thoughts fail him.

He holds her as her family fixes her room for her. It seems to be done in silence. He can only watch her calming body swell with her breath and exhale after a beat. He knows she’s holding him in and almost wants to cry from extreme happiness. ‘That’s not an Alpha thing to do-is it?’ He shakes the thought. He doesn’t care. It’s more important to him to enjoy her as she is. 

“Yes, I did.” He quirks up a smile, “for you.”

For you. 

It earns him a kiss and she yawns into him. Finally relaxed enough to stand. 

———

Rey cries at the site of the bed. It takes up half of her room - but that’s not why she’s crying. Her family and mate went all out and took care of her. Bringing her a bed to share with him, being careful and protecting her during a very violent start to her heat, it was all so overwhelming. 

Everyone slips through the door figuring they would catch up with her after a few days. Ben, who had let her stand to admire what was before her, came up behind her, lowering his head to her shoulder. “Are you alright?” He asks lowering his lips to onto her, peppering kisses over them. He’s excruciatingly careful gauging her, even though they’d been rough in the truck. He remembers it how he’d made her scream. It sent chills through his bones making him needy. It made him need her in such a way she could feel it. The spike. He tried to control it. 

“Ben..” she leans into him. 

He quiets her. His hands drawing down her shoulders. The ridges of his calloused hands scraping deliciously over her heated skin. 

Broadly licking her scent glands. Sucking on them as another wave hits her. There’s almost no time between them. She tries to break him of this spell he’s putting on her. Reaching back and tugging on his hair, just the arch in her back is too much. She releases him quickly falling forward, bracing herself on the foot of the bed. 

“Alpha!” She strangles out. 

He looks at her in a panic. He’s never been with an omega handling a relapse. They were myths, he was sure of it. 

This was real. 

No myth.

She screams again as the heat pours through her body. “Please!” She’s begging but doesn’t know what for. Relief? ‘What does he have to do?’ She thought. ‘What can she tell him?’ Whimpering through its intensity, as it’s now stronger than the last. 

Ben is still alarmed by the responses she’s giving about it’s intensity, but grunting at this alluring site. His Omega in heat, begging for his touch. He rolls his eyes back into his head almost summoning the animal inside him when he hears Rey beg against the mattress.

“Ben! A-L-P-H-A! Please! I need you.”

He steadies her against the bed, “I’m here Omega. Be still.” He holds her waist where he wants her. Bent over, flat back like he’d seen her do this afternoon. “Like this Omega.” He snakes his hands around her opening her button, unzipping the tiny zipper, stripping her of her jean shorts. He leaves her thong on, appreciatively groping her rear. Pinching her low, long and slowly releasing her. His blood boiling as she moans at his touch. He watches her moisture pour out of her. She instinctively rolls her hips to him, dying for some friction, “Alpha!”

He hushes her, pulling off his clothes, ripping her thong from her as he did in the truck. He had no idea the power of it the first time, he had to do it again. Always if possible! He wastes no more time, “Call me K-y-l-o!” He grits through his teeth-slamming his proud length into her. He stills, letting her find the peace she needed being completely filled with him. His eyes roll back in his head yet again, reveling in the feeling of being completely within her. He vaguely hears her moan his name, snapping him back into the present. He squeezes her right cheek hard while he pulls out so only his tip is inside her before slamming himself back in. He thinks he’s dreaming when she comes without an orgasm. ‘That’s -we have to fix that,’ he slams into her relentlessly listening to her wail his name constantly begging for more. Her ecstasy courses through his bloodstream. His body tenses, begging her to come. He’s close. “Please, Rey... Come for me,” he breaths. 

She does, almost on command. It makes him feel powerful making his beautiful Omega orgasm. “Oh! Yes! You’re so fucking - YES! KYLO-“ she pants. Her cathartic scream brings him over, crashing over and over into her until he stills, pouring himself into her. His knot swelling, breathing is ragged but still manages to hook his arm around her stomach, pulling her to him so they don’t loose their connection as he moves them to the middle of the bed. It’s a feat with her completely sated - for this round at least. Once they’re comfortably in the middle of the bed he nuzzles into her hair. “Better?”

“Mhmm,” she holds his arms tighter into her, “Ben?-“ her body prickles when he nips at her shoulder. “What does Kylo mean?”

He smiles into her skin. Lifting his eyes to meet hers. His hair tickles her skin as he does. “It was my nickname while I served. It means king...” he smiles wickedly as he continues to come, knotted with her, “and Rey means queen.”

She starts to giggle. “Queen? That’s the first I’ve heard of it.” 

“To quote you, ‘I’m not wrong.’” He teases- his hair flopping in her face. 

“Well then, Kylo...” she purrs. “What did you do to earn yourself such a mighty nickname?” She bites her lip waiting for his story.

“I trained hard,” he stops, feeling her lean back into him, relishing in his words, “hardest of all,” he runs his teeth at the base of her neck, softly clamping down around her mating gland... humming at the successful teases that earned him her gasps and gushing orgasm around him. “I was quick to rise to the top ranks...” he presses into her even further still. “Eventually, everyone started calling me Kylo-Ren.”

She gasped! Tightening around him. “You’re Kylo-Ren?!” 

He nods, unsure why she knows of him. 

“You?!”

“Yes?”

“No... you’re kidding with me. Really?”

“Yes. Why?”

“In the back there were all of these training tapes - where I found all those mixed martial arts tapes, boxing, all that stuff... by the time I was ten, I made it through all of them, still looking for anything I could find. Well, there’s sleeves, marked ‘Kylo-Ren’ in there, but I never found the tapes...” 

He listens to her, dumbfounded. “Han must have kept them,” feeling a sense of pride with every credulous word.

“Han?”

“My father.” 

“Han was your father?!” She starts to sob. “You mean I could have seen you before now?”

“Hey, stop...it’s ok... probably for the best we didn’t - I was young and stupid then. I wouldn’t have known how special you were if I knew you before now.”

His words are heavy like cinderblocks hitting her in the chest. “Special?”

“You don’t know do you? You make everyone try harder for you because of your tenaciousness. You survived so much... I couldn’t dream of doing what you’ve done. You have the family you have now because of how special you are. Anyone else would have died again and again but not you-“

Rey pulls him down to her, “you’re special too.”

He blushes, “not me.”

“Yes you. You.” She leans back into him. “You could have been just another mark-“ she giggles. God how he loves that sound.

He licks her, pressing her to continue. But, her heat strikes again, she whimpers, “Kylo!”

——-

Meanwhile, everyone heads off for home, locking up as they go. The girls are giggling, excited for Rey, between the two wishing each other a good night. 

Connix takes the keys from Poe and eyes him carefully, “You’re not driving- that’s a terrible idea.” She’s sweet enough to him to open the door and make sure he didn’t slap his melon- ‘Swiss cheese block- thanks Rey,’ on the way in. She’s well aware the guys just went out and helped Rey’s situation but Poe is hers. She can’t seem to look at him without thinking about Swiss cheese. When she knows he’s in, she closes the door sternly, and passes around the back of their Charger into the driver’s seat. 

Poe’s a little droopy now that it’s 11:30pm. He usually gives up around 1am but with the blow to his head he should really get some rest. Connix drives off with him, the radio hums quietly between them. The moonlight, the only light this evening, floods the road in front of them beautifully. It’s breathtaking. There’s even a halo around the moon. She rolls down her window, enjoying the warm, dry air. The summer was always Connix’s favorite time of year. Even in the south. The heat would light her on fire. It would make her feel complete-calm...she feels Poe staring at her, it makes her smile. She doesn’t have to say anything, sliding her hand to his, he takes it in his, cherishing her and their family together. They ride in silence home. 

“How are you feeling?” She finally manages. 

“I have you. So I’m just fine.”

They arrive home, pulling up to an RV that Rey fixed up for them. A fire tore through their house leaving them with only the most important things, themselves. It still bites at them knowing it was someone’s flick of a cigarette that changed their lives. The carelessness. But they would gladly live in a box if it meant they were together.

She helps him to bed, propping him up on all of the pillows they have. She offers him some Advil with water. Once it’s her turn to experience the bed, she sits and slumps miserably next to him. She loses herself in the exhaustion, beginning to sob she lowers her face on the mattress. Poe tries consoling her. The best he can do is pull her into a hug and let her let it out. 

The stress has basically destroyed her tonight. She could have lost Poe if Rey wasn’t quick to realize the error. It was all just too much...

—

Finn and Rose make it to their truck. “We need to talk about your choice of words- Rose.” Finn starts.

“Oh no you don’t. My words were chosen for a reason, and the only correct ones to use at the time,” she raises a challenging eyebrow. 

Finn steps up first getting into their truck and starting the engine. Rose is a quick second. “You challenged another Alpha, Rose.” He stares at her, “We’re not exactly tame especially when someone we love is in need.”

“I challenged him multiples,” she explains. 

“Rose. You have to stop. Ben loves Rey” Finn finally said, taking off in the direction of heir house. “He wouldn’t have spent all day trying to be around her and left her during an extreme heat relapse to get her a bed. Alphas are known to want for any surface- going into primal mode. 

She smirks, thinking of their antics. “Ok I’ll drop it, but he is a terrible driver. Did you see his car?”

“Rose?” He looks at her but doesn’t command her. 

“Ok. Sorry.” She pauses, “I think we’re good though, because when he came for Rey - I opened the door and he hugged me and thanked Connix before taking her. Like he’d of realized what we’ve been doing to protect her for years.”

A small smile comes to Finn’s lips and they drive home in silence. When they get to the house, Rose realizes where they got the bed, and almost panics about it because her mom can be a real piece of work. 

“She only comes a hand full of times. When she does she can get a hotel room. She’s an adult. She can get over it.” He soothes her, “Besides, I’d rather have someone else in there.”

“Someone else?” Rose is confused. 

“You know, start a family... have a,”

“Baby?”

“Yes.”

“A baby?”

“Rose, I want a family with you more than you’ll ever know. Forget your mom on this one. She’ll get over it.” He steps forward to hold her. 

Rose’s eyes gleam as this is a huge step into the unknown. They’ve been married now for almost eight years since he’d asked her before his first tour, it really only felt like three since he’d been gone so long. “Okay,” she assuringly says.

“Okay!?” Finn beams excitedly like he was a boy and just got to keep a puppy. 

She giggles at the spectacle, “Yes!”

—

It’s well into the early morning, Rey’s snuggled into Ben’s chest, her leg draped over his hips, drowsy from their latest release.

“It’s ok to sleep, Rey.” He sweetly pushes her teased hair from her face. 

She yawns into him, “I don’t usually sleep much.”

“Why?” He looks down at her.

“I don’t like to see you get hurt.” She strangles out softly. “I usually get up in two hours and start working so I don’t have to...” she trails. 

He holds her tightly. How could he heal her past this? He can’t protect her from her dreams? Can he? "Try Rey. I’m here. I’ll keep watch over you-no one can get you now.”

She licks him, “but it’s You I’m worried about,” pressing soft kisses where she can reach him until she falls asleep. 

Rey actually gets rest. Waking still only two hours later, but dreams of nothing. No story, no past, no pain for Ben, no glazed eyes and bloody gash, nothing. Just darkness. Comfort. She lightly stretches rolling her neck and shoulders back from him. The release the stretch provides involuntarily closes her eyes and allows the slightest moan off of her lips, awakening Ben’s arousal. 

“Sleep good?” He rolls her over, pinning her underneath him.

“Yes. Best I’ve slept my whole life.” She strains up to kiss him but can only graze his lips so she bites at his bottom one trying to pull him down to her. He’s enjoying himself far too much, staring down at her, he lets her tug at him again. Finally releasing him, noticing he’s playing hard to get she’s ready to play rough. First bucking at him to test his hold. He’s hard, and she wants him, but he’s not going to expect what comes next, she’s sure of it. 

Her cocky little temptress comes back in full force. ‘He’s not going to keep me down,’ she starts to giggle catching him off guard. 

“What are you up to, naughty little Omega?” He looks down at her smirk expecting something-‘there’s always something with that look.’ He has her absolutely pinned arms above her head, pressing his weight into them. 

She arches her back, pressing her shoulders into the mattress. ‘This is so much softer than my cot,’ she thinks. Reveling in it she closes her eyes, hearing his breathing shallow as she pushes her chest up to him. Her eyes flare open when she realizes he’s broadly licked her left breast, clamping his lips down around her nipple, suckling hard on her making her squeal. She feels him growing harder with each strangled moan. Figuring it’s now or never, her vixen kicks in tensing her core muscles, hooking her leg around his and shouldering her chest up hard into his face, rolling him back onto his back. 

His eyes pop open, and bites down onto her soft tissue. “Kylo!” She moans. Her folds gush as he soothes the sting. 

Grabbing her rear. “You need to be more careful.” He swats her. 

“No.” She teases.

“What do you mean no?” He slaps  
Her harder on the other cheek. 

She gushes at his slaps, “It’s not just your way-“ she smirks.

He knows she’s gonna say it. “Don’t say it.”

Rey flops her head to her shoulder.

“Don’t...”

“Babe.” She squeals with delight when he flips her right back over. 

“Will you always defy me?” Grazing his teeth on her neck. 

“If this wild side is the response I get- yes!” She grabs at him, enjoying pressing his buttons. Bewildered by this woman, ‘How did I get so lucky?’ She reads his face. “You really don’t know do you?”

“I tried to get it out of you before,” he devours her. She pushes up into him matching his ferocity, leaving him breathless, when she pulls back from him. 

“Ben, your scent pushed my heat forward by days- that doesn’t happen. You could have been violent, like most of the assholes that come around here. I put myself at risk- which I never do. If you were anyone else, I would have told you to come back tomorrow. Part of me knew, I could trust you, especially when you didn’t get mad when I basically told you that you could fuck off.” She giggles at his ‘I remember that’ expression. “You controlled yourself. When you carried me, it was the first time in forever that I’d felt peace-like you were supposed to be with me.” She runs her fingers softly through his hair, “Whether we mate or not, Kylo, I will always, only be yours, that’s how special you are.”

His scent spikes proudly, “That’s...how you really feel?”

“Life is too short to lie.” She said seriously. 

He launches himself at her. He engulfs her as if he’s fire conquering fresh tinder. Her body curls around his every movement. His grip between passes syncs up perfectly with how she’s breathing. He pulls at her, lifting her off the bed onto his lap, making her kneel facing him. He can’t hide his amusement lowering her all the way down into him. Enjoying his impressive length all the way down to his base, she grinds down into him. Steadying herself, nice and slow... holding his forearms in ecstasy. 

Rey’s eyebrows lift in appreciation as she picks up speed grinding downwards, pulling softly back upwards so she feels every delicious ridge rub her exactly right. She touches Ben’s sinew, grabbing around him at his hips , losing herself on him. 

Ben can feel her- she’s so close. “Come Rey!”

She bucks a few more times before slamming down and arching her back, throwing her head back at her amazing release. “KYLO! YESSS!” She hisses digging her short nails down into his skin during this orgasm feeling him knot her yet again. His throbbing member again where he belongs. Ben carefully rolls them over, pulling the sheet’s over them. 

The sheets while warm are cool to Rey. She loves being on top of him. It lets her splay her hands him while she listens to his heart beading or his trembling breath. She likes to know what she can do to him. It’s a beautiful thing. This attractive man, her alpha. She finds herself knowing she’d fight for him if it ever rose to that level. She wants to know everything about him so she can be the mate he needs her to be. 

She swirls her fingers over his skin, staining at them skating over him, “Ben?”

He grunts softly. 

“What happened the night we first met?” She’s not sure she wants the answer. The scratches were deep enough to accentuate that he was flirting with death. She wasn’t stupid. She’s seen wrecks like that and usually a family member drops off the hunk of unreclaimable metal as if her place was a junkyard for the memory of their loved one to pass. She needed to know so that she could help him heal past the restored destruction. She remembers his face when he spoke to her that night. She should have known then that it was bad — she’s just glad he’s here with her now. 

“I’d been racing.” He gulps. “It was a bad day and I thought I needed the release of adrenaline. I had gotten caught in a memory where I should have been focusing. I went to drift and I dropped too many gears, grinding the clutch which slammed me into another driver pinning myself around the curve just a quarter mile away from your garage.” She can picture it. A lot of accidents happen there. If the boulder wasn’t there he would have gone clean off. 

“Why the fuck do people drift on that cliff!?” She’s mad. 

Her response surprises him. 

“There are signs everywhere to take that fucking thing at fifteen miles per hour, less so in the rain!” Mad she could have lost him, “are you even from around here?”

“Well, kind of, I have a house out here.” She looks up at him not understanding that people could have multiple living quarters. “I have a few houses across the states.” She’s still not completely hearing him. 

“So you’re not really here?” She chokes out. 

He hears her disappointment that he could go at any time. “There just places Rey. Yesterday clarified what life was really about for me - it was something I was missing and found in you. I’d gladly give it up if it meant a life with you.” He lowers his head to kiss the top of her head. He feels her breathing hitch. 

“Do you mean that?”

“Every word.”

There’s so much peace in his words. Her eyes deceive her strength, releasing tears of relief. “I love you,” she whispers holding him tightly. 

He stills, lightly bringing her chin up to hers, “Do you mean that?” He repeats her. 

“Without a doubt.”

He kisses her passionately, holding her protectively against him as she releases a few more tears. 

“Stay with me. Please.” She begs him between breaths. 

“Forever.”

—-  
Her heat cycle ravaged her longer than she’s ever experienced. He’s kept her sated but wanting for all of it. They’d enjoy their conversations between poundings. They’d try teasing at each other just before an impending heat flare up, but the need for penetration would be too great making it hard to know what the other likes beyond the reaches of just fucking. Of course it’s not ‘just’ anything. Rey’s sure she could die happy after any of their rounds.

Their conversations have been about just about everything. Now she knows he was in the Marines, had an accident he’d rather not speak of even though Rey wouldn’t mind the gore. Maybe he did, maybe he could still feel it since he touches it every time someone looks at it or they talk about it. Rey intentionally licks at it almost every chance she gets now. She catches a smile every time she does it and a sharp, intense kiss with it. 

He reveals his job to her as a product developer at Apple’s headquarters. Which was why he was currently in the area. Yes it’s more than fourteen hours away from work to his place in Nevada, but it was a much needed change from the daily liberalisms that plague today’s people. There was something about living with what you had that was enticing to him. He’d revealed that Han would come out this way when he had enough of society’s qualms, and he’d like to think he’d made the same decisions as his father all those years ago. She’d learned that he was more down to Earth than people thought of him. He liked the idea of having something concrete that he could rely on rather than always chasing the tail of an idea that didn’t belong to him. 

He explained he took time off - he didn’t really need the job, but liked working because it built character. He’d told his supervisors that he’d be in Nevada working as a freelance developer for some much needed time away and that was why he was around. He’d been frustrated with his most recent design -it was the reasoning of his worst and best decisions of his life.

All the while he’d ask her simple things like if she could go anywhere, where would she go. To his surprise she kept clippings of National Geographic articles and pictures in a plastic bag in her room of things she wanted to do one day. She’d found them in a box in the back but didn’t want mice so she clipped what she wanted to keep. She later apologized for it if any of it was his. He knew the more she shared, the more he wanted to be a part of that life, giving her the times she’d dreamt of. 

It had been a full three days of unrelenting heat waves, intense orgasms, more information shared until it finally breaks on the fourth day. Ben still hasn’t marked her yet, his intention is clear that he will but he wants to respect her past her hormones if he can contain himself. He’s taken the week off to be with her, thankfully it started Friday night, so he still has three open to her, and the weekend. Shes taken turns sleeping with him through the last twelve hours. Trying to make sure he gets the rest he needs too. He’s got his head resting at her bosom, hair flopped carelessly around them, listening to her heartbeat. 

Happy. 

Calm. 

Peace. 

By Wednesday afternoon, she was well enough to open shop and start up the usual day. Rey calls Rose and Connix, checking back in with them so they know she’s ok and that they’re open, when she realizes the stack of mail, and another message from Gwen Phasma. Her eyes pop open wider looking for a piece of paper and a pen. Her phone doesn’t always repeat the message so this is crucial! 

“Got it!” Shaking the pen to make sure it works. Practically stumbling back to the counter to take notes on the call. 

Ben watches her scribble notes and a number. At least she got that. The phone gives half of the address and the theme of the motor show at the end of the month, which is hilarious and scary because she still has so much to do for that. Rey knows that it’s still an invitation only event so of course she gets emotional taking these notes. ‘I must be doing something right,’ she sniffs hanging up the phone. 

“This-is-“ She stops, “it’s going to help so much!” Rey looks up at Ben who has no idea what she’s talking about. ‘Just breathe’ she tells herself. “‘Phaux‘ is an elite auto group. They hold an invitation only event every summer to show off what people in the industry have going for them each year. We got to go for the last few years. Last year we got wise to it and brought refurbished cars and motorcycles with us. Everything sold. I’ve been working with Rose on this year’s even if we weren’t invited it would be good to have show pieces available for sale, but thankfully we just were! I’ll confirm later today...” she pulls him by the arm and almost completely down the hangar. “This is what I’m working on.” He’s starring at a fairly new Mustang. If he had to guess maybe a 2015. It’s red with black leather seats, all black interior with chrome accents over the vents and some other smaller pieces that had tied the car together.

“I just need to remount the engine, and get Rose to give it the gloss coat.”

“It looks brand new.”

“What a nice complement,” she teases. “When I got it it was mangled. It turns out the kids around here can’t really appreciate an older model. I blame high rollers in L.A.” 

Ben grimaces inwardly. It was the life he knew being the product of an Organa-Solo, before being in that building. “What’s wrong with that life?” 

“Nothing, just an observation. It is a pretty car...” she says tracing the hood with her fingertips. “There’s nothing quite like American muscle,” her eyes flick up to his. He can feel the electricity in the room charging them. She’s not in heat and wants him again and they haven’t even spent two whole hours out of her room. 

He takes two giant steps towards her, pulling her arm sharply moving her to him. “I’ll give you some muscle...” he growls.

“I love that sound.” She smiles. 

He growls again, hoisting her waist high around him. Holding her tightly against him with his left arm, he sinks his hand into her hair, pulling it back hard. She squeals in delight at his roughness. She wanders her hands up his torso, pressing around him to hold the back of his shoulders. He grunts again at her strength. Just the way she’s holding on with her legs is too much to bare. He licks his lips, “Rey, I need you,” he grinds in to her. 

“Then take me Kylo. I’m yours.” She’s wet and waiting, grinding downward into him. 

‘Mine.’ His eyes roll back into his head. “I want this too,” his teeth graze the base of her neck. 

She holds him tighter with this legs, her core holding strong against him, she moves her hands back to his waistband, pulling at the button of his jeans, releasing them from his body. “It would make me complete.” She breathes, “bite me hard Kylo.” His erection already straining out of his pants, she guides him against her folds reveling in his length. The intensity of her slick being rubbed back onto her sends shivers up her spine. Her tiny hand grips him a forcefully plunges him into her gaining an appreciative hiss from Ben. He leans her against the car for support, slamming into her relentlessly, just how he knows she likes it. 

And she screams! ‘Oh God how she calls me king and screams for me!’ He thinks gritting his teeth. 

Her heartbeat quickens and her breathing turns ragged. Her body wanting to be filled... “Fuck! Kylo! YES!” She comes before him.

“REY! He positions himself over her left shoulder and and bites her mating gland as hard as he can coming deep within her. 

“KY!!” She drops her head back on the car’s roof, pressing her body into his, and enjoying him soothing his mark. She hums appreciatively, vaguely hearing the door chime jingle, remembering they’re open. Ben goes to move but Rey doesn’t let him. A voice she doesn’t know asks for Rey, so she politely rasps, “She’ll be back in an hour!” 

Ben now knotted with her, stifles an amused laugh into her neck, daftly opening the door to sit in the car until his knot wore off. 

“Sorry about the mess...” he licks at her over his bite. 

“Never. Apologize. For. This....” Rey rests her head on his left shoulder. 

He inquires about the motor show, why it’s so important to her and what she’s trying to accomplish by going. 

“My family is the most important unit in my life.” She smirks at her words. ‘Unit’ She giggles. “I’ve been saving for them for a long time. Sure I pay for food and stuff here and there out of the register but I see it as an oil change for a pizza to make up for the chicken I destroyed. But this project has been in the works now since I started. I bought the land, and the hangar when I was 11 from Han- your father. When I met the girls, I was just getting back on my feet, able to pay the taxes and all that. He said he’d keep it in his name until I turned 18 and was old enough to own it by law. That was almost four years ago now. The deed was mailed to me within the same week- long story short I’ve been saving since then for a living situation. It’s not exactly the easiest thing getting work out here. But I wouldn’t trade it. I wouldn’t trade them. Or you.” She stops, “things have happened and needed to be fixed or, God, Connix and Poe.. when they lost their house - that was hard.” She chokes at the thought. Taking a deep sigh, “I want to offer them land in the back and divide the money so they can build the houses they want back there. There’s so much space and I don’t need it. Just them. And you.”


	4. The News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winding down from her heat with Ben the news breaks about her past with an old friend to her family. Rey clears the air about the raid. Connix is besides herself about her impressive mark and Rey has a fee things she’s actually dying to share too.

Ben looks on at Rey in amazement. Like he couldn’t have ever understood how someone so young could handle financing such a project. 

“Ben, I was homeless for a long time. It wasn’t until I bought the hangar that I felt I had a place I belonged. Something that was mine... but it took me a long time to feel like it wasn’t going to be snatched up again right from under me...” she admits quietly. “The girls at least had families. Broken homes but families just the same. Rose’s Dad told her he was part of the raid,” she nods suggestively at his face, “it messed him up into drinking at all hours of the day. Paige pushed her mom to divorce him after he threatened her and Rose. He said he was going to get rid of them. Which didn’t make sense because before it, he was a role model for them. Rose’s Mom went crazy. She couldn’t help him and it broke her. Finn can’t stand her because she’s a bipolar mess of complaints. She’s always got to tell you what’s wrong with you even when there’s nothing wrong. Connix - her mom died from a drug overdose when she was twelve and never met her dad. We’ve really only been each other’s real family. Connix’s older brother was a douchebag until he got married a couple years ago and got his act in line” she leans back from Ben who is still absorbing all of this. “We’re not promised tomorrow. Keeping what I have when my family struggles, that’s greed- and I’ll have no part of it.”

“You didn’t have to tell me all of that,” he sighs, “In this short time, I feel like I know you..” he drops his eyes from hers down to her lips and slowly back up as if to tear himself from that terrible admittance. “I have an idea to help you gain a percentage per sale through Apple if you sell the plans of your headphones to them. I know it’s an old concept to you, but the outside world -they haven’t seen anything like it. Do you think you would want to give that a try?” He looks at her and can’t yet understand all of her expressions. He supposed it will come in time, since he now has a lifetime with her. He continues, “It’s ok if you don’t- I just thought, it would be an Apple thing and it’s such a big company...” 

She stops him mid sentence catching his lips in a kiss, “you would do that for us? Work on that? For our family?”

Her inclusion of him in the word ‘our’ incredulously speaking of all of them as a single unit, “without a second thought.” He wants nothing more than to give her secure chance of completing her dreams. Who knew what she wanted after this. She could want for the moon and he’d do what he could to get there for her. 

His knot finally subsides and they make their way from the car to the shower and back before the individual that requested Rey’s assistance returned. Rey, now clean, welcomes Ben close again, enjoying him scenting her. She paws at his chest, ecstatic that he’s hers. The pure joy it brings her is unlike anything she’d of ever experienced and she’d do anything to keep it. 

Ben is back and forth, worried about what her family is going to say about the huge bite he’s left her, but finds peace with her remark from earlier he keeps playing in his head. ‘I want this with you. I’ll wear it proudly, always,’ She said it as if she’d never be ashamed of him, of their decisions, of their need of each other. It makes him smile when she pulls back her hair making sure it’s on display. 

“Oh! You know what this means now?!” She covers her excited grin. “I can play music through the speakers- I wonder if they still work,” she looks up at them. Rey passes him to go back to their room to grab the headphones. As she gets to them she realizes her favorite smell and doesn’t want to come back down. Her eyelids lower, hooding her eyes...It’s hypnotizing. ‘I never want to clean this room...’ she admits to herself. She opens the back of the headband where the charger is and pulls down the jack for the speakers. She has to think about where the main speaker is when Ben comes up to check on her. He’s hit by the entrancing must too. Rey can sense him before he makes it through the threshold. She bends to check switches under the ledge by the window to make sure the power is on when she finds the right insert. He’s on the prowl again, ‘Will I ever tire of this? No. That’s a stupid question and an obvious answer-‘ she rolls her eyes inwardly. “Got it,” She rises looking him over, “Again?” she cocks her head to the side.

That look means trouble. She pads up to him placing her tiny hand over his heart. “Come on, I need your help...” she says leaving the room. 

He holds her by the wrist still standing at the landing. She knows he’s going to try some alpha command, and if she lets it huff through his breath she won’t make it another step. She slips her hand into the waist band of his jeans, grabbing and pulling him to her, lifting her eyes to his, “I’ll never tire of you Kylo...We have our whole lives to enjoy each other...” she just about reaches his lips when they hear someone in the lobby again. 

“Hello? Is Rey here? It’s been an hour.” A man’s voice rings through the hangar. 

“Later,” she licks her lips. Rey grabs her belt realizing she’s still in her spanks. “Where the fuck...” she whispers, grabbing her dirty coveralls and shoes from the pile she left on the floor a week ago. She scurries into them, shoving her feet in her boots, after checking them for any bastard spiders knowing they fancy hiding in them. All clear, but forgetting her socks has her so damned uncomfortable walking up to the front. “Ben can you get me some socks?” She hollers behind her as she makes her way to the lobby. 

“Ben?” The man asks turning to see Rey. 

Rey goes to meet him in the front and apologize for the wait, drying off her hands on her clothes. She looks up to see Han. 

“HAN!” She jumps the desk running over to him for a hug. “How are you?!” This is a different response out of Rey. One Han had never experienced. Usually it was, “Hey kid,” before any conversation or, “Later kid,” when he’d leave. Rey releases him when she realizes she’s knocked the wind out of this poor man. She giggles at his expression. 

He looks at her neck immediately, “I hope that was welcomed and there isn’t a dead body somewhere.” 

Ben over hears this comment coming through the door and straight out collapses realizing it’s his dad. Rey’s head whips around and rushes to his side so he doesn’t bang his head on anything. If she thought he was heavy during their near week together, she couldn’t be more wrong. “Help me get him to the chair,” she nods towards the window.

Han had never seen Rey fuss over a man before, except for when she was starring down a loaded barrel, when he realizes he’s her mate. “So....” he wants to ask her how this happened but can’t see either of them past the kids they once were to him. Rey punches a code into her remote triggering the fans to start blowing and retrieves a drink from the water dispenser. Honestly one of her favorite contraptions since she first purchased the service. Noticing he’s kind of coming back, blinking his eyes and looking around, she makes her way back over to him, softly stroking his hair and giving him the cup. Ben does another double take at his Dad offering a faint smile. “Mated Rey, eh? Looks like she’s too much for you...” he teases. 

Rey’s eyes bulge, about ready to laugh when, Han asks how long they’ve known each other. Rey has her flashback and is unaware that the room is filling with Finn and Rose’s presence too. “I’ve always known him,” she whispers. “He was there.” She strokes her fingers through his hair, “Han... he was in the building the police raided. He saved me. The man who did this to him,” tracing his facial scar, “would have killed me and probably the others.”

They all stand in silence until Ben is awake enough to drink the water she gave him. “All this time you were- you were so quiet, I just figured you were a mute for a few years.”

“A mute?”

“Rey, you never spoke. You’d never ask for anything. I started offering you food at the same time Chewie would eat so I knew you had something.”

Rose brings her hand to her mouth, taking the backseat into the memories of Rey’s past, well before they knew each other.

Rey nods at Han. “Had I been stronger..”

“No. So many of the children that were rescued suffered similar mental incompetencies. I just never knew you dealt with it. You never slept. You had nothing but...”

Rey swallows hard and looks down to the floor. She stares at it like she’s trying to pierce a hole through it. “I had time, and safety, so long as no one found out I was here. When I’d sleep, I’d see him...Ben... struck and dying...” she struggles to say. 

Han returns to a standing position, drawing her into a hug. “Ben is a good man. I’m not saying that because he’s my son.” He smiles radiantly over her shoulder, “he’ll be a good mate,” he chokes out pushing back from her embrace. “I guess I should say ‘welcome to the family.’” Ben finally stands and hugs her from behind. Rose lets go of Finn’s hand and launches herself into her too. 

Finn stays back. It’s inappropriate for another Alpha, unless they’re blood related, to hug another alpha’s mate without permission. Besides this was too much for him to process. Instead he waves to Connix and Poe as they park in front of the building. 

“Hey, who’s Beechcraft is on the strip?” Poe asks throwing his thumb back behind him. 

“Mine kid,” says Han, turning to Poe. 

Poe strides up to Han shaking his hand, looking back at Connix, visually thanking her for prying him out of the bed this afternoon. “Why is everyone in here? Was this the news?” 

“What news?” Asks Finn. 

“YES!!!” Connix jumps up and down. “They’re mated!!!! This makes me so happy!!! We should celebrate!!” She hugs the group hug that had been happening since before they had come in. Rey starts to bubble with laughter. 

“There’s a lot to talk about” says Rey holding tightly onto Ben’s arms. “Why don’t we sit by the pool? At least there there are more chairs so everyone can sit.”

“Before we do that, I need a little help with the control panel in the G36.”

Rey nods, “What’s it doing?”

“I keep losing power to it. I think it’s just a wiring problem and would prefer you change out the entire wire so it doesn’t go up in flames. I have a weird feeling the whole damn thing is frayed. I found a family of squirrels nesting under the hood before. I have no idea how bad it could be. Then I remembered you.”

Rey nods again grabbing her tools and attaching them to her waist, “show me.”

Han nods. 

—-

It’s a walk up to his plane. Rey is back to business being in the open air. The sky looks like the clouds had been painted onto it. The dry heat is scorching through her, sun kissing her skin where it’s still exposed. Her mark shows proudly, glistening in the sunlight too. 

Ben watches as her and Han make it up to the G36 and is tempted to follow when Rose flat out asks him what happened. “I don’t want to know about last week’s hook up... what happened in that building?” She needs to know. She needs to know why her dad is messed up, why he’d been so destroyed. She wanted to know what happened to him, what he saw, why he couldn’t move past it.

“I think you better let Rey explain. She” He looks everywhere but at them, “she was the product of the human trafficking cartel. She said she’d been sold since she was a baby, and at that building, where the raid was... My friends and I were trespassing and I was attacked trying to save a little girl.”

“Rey.” Rose turns completely pale. 

“Yeah.” 

“I’m. Excuse me. I need to call my Mom.” Rose leaves.

There’s an awkward moment between the four. The look at each other and then to the floor, around the lobby, out by Rey, when Connix finally had enough. She broke the silence like a bullet through glass, “Well then, it was meant to be. Welcome to the family.” Connix said it proudly, stern so she knew he couldn’t second guess himself. She left Poe’s side to hug him. Him. Another Alpha. Rey’s mate. Poe looked at her like she had just slapped him in the balls by hugging another Alpha. After, she turns to see the Poe and Finn gaping at her. “What. Rey hugged you when she welcomed you to the family. You’re acting like I just asked him to fuck me.”

“First, no. She didn’t hug me.” Says Poe, “It may have looked like that but she threatened me- there were NO well wishes at all.”

Finn starts snickering. “Yeah,” shaking his head, “she did not like you.”

“Yes! I remember.” 

“It’s ok,” says Ben, “I can’t smell her, so it’s not disrupting Rey’s scent if that’s what you’re worried about.” He knows Poe’s concern has something to do with post-heat and territorial omegas.

The guys offer a handshake, and they notice Han is pulling the plane into the hangar with his truck. Rey must still be inside because no one sees her, parking alongside the the Mustang they just christened. ‘Of all the places,’ Ben thinks. He watches as his dad gets out of the truck, starts to speak and then eyes the ‘stang. Ben tries to stay collected. ‘Rey said not to apologize for that.’ He tries to remind himself. Han looks back to Ben and their eyes meet. It’s a stand off. Ben literally only makes it a mere thirty seconds before caving and smiling about it. Han rolls his eyes remembering his days with Leia. They let it go and move on to Rey who calls from the cockpit. 

“Ok!” Rey has the panel in hand. “Couple of things...” she steps out and leans on the side of the plane. Keeping her eyes down, she lifts her hand to catch a piece of gum Connix hurled at her. “Thanks, babe,” Han rolls his eyes. Rey fingers the gum out of paper, but waits to pop it in her mouth. “Nothing has tampered with it, but the constant use has grounded the solder tacking down the board is clearly shorting the circuits. I don’t want to pull the panel from the cockpit though so I have to redo it within the plane. Are you ok with that?”

“What, uh, what does that mean you have to do?”He stammers out. 

“Basically, I’ll need a small torch on in your plane to fix your aircraft.”

Han laughs nervously placing his hands on his hips. “Yeah.. of course you do.”

“Just kidding...don’t worry, I have a soldering gun now,” she laughs patting Han on the shoulder as she walks by. “It’ll take maybe five minutes- no big deal.” She walks past for the tool and unhooks the clamp attached to the truck on the way back. 

Soldering the panel takes exactly that much time.

Ben and the others have since taken to standing with Han. They listen to Ben ask about his Mother and home. “Your Mom is slowing down. She wants to do everything but she’s just -old. She keeps saying she’s ‘getting old’ but we’re old. I’m sure she’d like to meet Rey since you’re mated.” Right now they’re enjoying their place in upstate New York. It seems she, like Han, now, likes to escape to a simpler life. “She’ll sit outside now and just watch the lake, the wild life, sip her tea and enjoy the day with her feet in the sand. Kind of like her mother before she passed.” 

“Is mom ok?” Ben almost stiffens. 

“Yeah, nothing medical now- just getting old.”

Their conversation breaks to notice Rey starting the engine and pulling in the passenger door. Systems check. She sits down in the pilot’s seat, adjusts the headset so she can hear herself think. Backing herself out of the hangar gently cracking her gum as she turns to pull towards the tarmac. 

“She’s not really going to...?” They follow her outside. 

And with that she taxis until she’s ready to punch it, pulling up well before the end of the strip, securing the landing gear and climbing into the atmosphere. Ben takes a look around and only sees Han, Poe and Connix. He figures Rose is still handling the news and wonders where Finn is, then he looks back to the plane, feeling a little better, thinking he must be with Rey. She takes it around the property twice, rolling, banking, not doing a flip-upside down is not her jam- and she can’t imagine why Han would enjoy it either. Rey makes sure it can take multiple altitudes at usual flight speed before coming in for a landing on the far end of the strip and taxing back towards the hangar but parking it outside. Rey cuts the power to the engine and let’s down the passenger stairs. Carefully hanging up the headphones and leaving it as she found it she stands from the seat collecting her soldering iron and goes to leave calling for Han. Ben is in her face when she looks up. She should have sensed him but fear and panic aren’t quite on her radar yet. She’d gotten a small dose of fear in her room weeks ago but that was it. Her face falls at his expression. “What’s the matter?”

He stands before her, silent, and trying to see if Finn is with her. At least then he would feel better. No one is there. Just her. He’s about to speak when he hears his father come up the steps. He motions to sit down so as not to bring attention to his furry? ‘What is the feeling he’s having? And why won’t he just speak up? What is this side of him?’

Han breaks her from her thoughts. “Hey kid,” she enjoys the familiar sound. Rey waves him in to the cockpit. She starts her technical speak, explaining what she experienced in the systems check, “Everything works- but as you know I’m not into flips. I didn’t check that. We can go back up if you want to check it but this isn’t a sport plane.. I assumed that you were just using it for a cruise.”

“Don’t worry about that. I haven’t done that in years.” Han says, “Good work, kid.” He pats her on the shoulder. 

Han and Rey file out followed by Ben, realizing he over reacted at her about something she clearly knew. He watched as she made her way back to the truck pulling it out for Han as he looked over her assessment list. “Kid knows her stuff,” he says flipping through it, within earshot of Ben. Ben looks around and sees Poe and Connix welcoming Finn to their conversation, probably wanting to know what’s going on with Rose. He looks a little further past the hangar and notices her walking around with her phone. ‘Ok - everyone is here.’ He thinks. He knew Rey wanted to talk to them about her plans and now they probably want to know more about their pasts and him mating her. His discomfort spikes more, to the point where Rey looks right up to him before assessing the hook up. Rey gazed at him, her face changes from a challenge to understanding, winking at him before attaching the gear. 

Han thanks Rey and tells them to look after each other, reminding Ben to visit. “Your Mom is going to want to meet her,”  
nodding at Rey. Rey giggles but is clearly nervous at the idea of leaving her home for anything. The group says they’re goodbyes, and all of the men seem to pick up on Rey’s scent. Fear. 

“What’s the matter, Peanut?” Asks Finn. 

“Nothing. It doesn’t matter.” Her scent heightens. 

“What is it?” Ben asked silkily, pushing her loose tendrils over her ear. 

She takes a deep breath and finally shares after a beat, “I haven’t been out of the state since, Mr. Plutt’s— my last foster home before meeting your dad. This is the most comfort I’ve had being anywhere. I’m scared to leave,” thinking about going to meet his mom.

“That’s what you’re worried about?”

Rey nods. 

“You just flew a plane you fixed ten minutes ago, like it was nothing- no fear there. But leaving the state? You know those things you want to do from the magazine clippings are all over the world...”

She nods again.

“We’re going to have to work on that...”

——

Back at the hangar Rey is back to business making a phone call to accept the invitation to Phaux’s event. This year it’s at the Bonneville Salt Flats which she maps them being about seven hours away from. Rey sits on the desk waiting for someone to pick up figuring out the amount of time she has to finish the bikes, jotting down everything, four bikes, three cars- bikes can be split in two truck beds - there’s enough bodies to drive everything out but it’s seven hours. May want to get a quote on a transport. That drive is too far for them to take and be awake for the show. Which reminds her, she has to do systems checks for each bike, “agh” she groans. Connix sits next to her eyeing her mark and grinning like a happy puppy waiting for someone to throw the ball. Rey smiles, raising her finger now hearing someone on the line, “Hi, this is Rey, owner of Rey’s Mechanics. I’m R.S.V.P.’ing for our spot for Phaux’s Motor Show.” She pauses waiting to answer more about what they will be claiming, “four bikes, three cars, still waiting to figure out transport since this event is seven hours from us-were in Corn Creek...”She’s given a number and expected to check in with it at the flats in two weeks. The call ends and Rey continues writing notes. “Ok!” She huffs, “I have a lot of news.”

“I’d say!” smirks Connix, “we should go out and celebrate!”

Rey giggles, shaking her head slightly. “Why don’t we order in? I have a lot I need to share and I want your honest opinion on all of it. But- I need everyone to hear it,” she looks around, “have you seen Rose?”

——

Rose has been back and forth with Paige and their mother trying to get information on her dad. Trying to help them along realizing Rey was there but there seems to be no budging them. “The fact is, he snapped, and was ready to get rid of us,” Paige said. She’d been hurt by the whole thing more than Rose. They had a great father daughter relationship. Paige even wanted to be a cop at one point, but settled in Real Estate. A far cry from what she knew- but decided this was better for her at the time. Following in her father’s footsteps would have been too much for her since the force really did honor him as one of the finest heroes in its history. Rose realizes she can’t fix this. It’s not a rusted part on a bike that can be cleaned and polished; these are lives. Memories that can’t be wiped clean. These were her family members that had been hurt and dealt with the pain of post traumatic stress for years... they were the product of the heroes of that raid. It wasn’t fair. But it wasn’t something she was going to give up on either. For now though, she collects herself and heads in to see everyone gathered in the lobby again. Pressing out a puff of air from her lungs, she makes it to the desk where the girls are sitting. 

“Hey?” asks Rey pulling her into a hug. The guys are looking over several menus for take out when they realize Rey with Rose. Rose explains her status as being upset at the information that was shared this afternoon. “You can’t be mad at that. Hurt -maybe empathetic- but not mad. It happened and it’s in the past.” They look at her, “I may be scared of what’s out there, and rather stay in like a hermit, but it doesn’t mean I’m holding onto all of that. I can’t. I’d go crazy. I don’t want to remember any of it. I would however have nightmares - every night, watching Ben die. Every night. And now that he’s here, I’ve been able to sleep. I’ve been calmer, not ready to end someone because they look at me weird. It’s been...peaceful.” She smiles into her friend, “I’m sorry about your dad. I’m sorry he lost it. You have Finn and now Ben to ask about PTSD too. I’m sure they have dealt with enough being in the armed forces..it’s not the same, I know... but maybe understanding them will help you understand your dad too. It may help him come around.” Rey let’s Rose process this. When she does she thanks Rey.

The silence in the room is weighted by stares. Rey looks up eyeing all of them, asking if there’s anything else they want to know about the raid. 

Everyone declines. 

“We’re just happy you’re with us, and ok!” Changing gears Connix grins again at Rey’s sizable mark. “I can’t even! I’m just so excited about this!” Shaking her hands in delight she’s been marked. Rey bites her lip looking to Connix with mirth. Connix can’t contain herself, “if you don’t want to go out then at least get something ordered unless you have something here.”

“I have canned food here. No meat- at least none to share.” She cocks her head to the side. The girls cackle and the guys are obviously uncomfortable by her again. Just how she likes them. She’d always kept them on their toes, especially Poe who choked on her words almost constantly. 

Finn uncomfortably asks what the news is to break the awkwardness. 

“Well, there’s a lot. First, we were invited back to Phaux’s Motor Show.” Finn gasps and everyone listens intently. “I just confirmed before- we have space to sell seven vehicles currently.” She looks over her notes even though she knows it by heart. “Four bikes that include a ‘08 YZF R6, ‘17 Honda CRB, the 250cc and the Black Cobra. The bikes are finished they just need to be painted.” She eyes Poe, he nods at her. “There cars, the ‘Stang,” She pauses looking at Ben blushing a bit, “The WRX STI, and the Audi Sport all have individual things wrong with them. “I’ll handle the ‘stang... the engine is done, needs to be handled with the lift etc, and minor detailing to the drivers side.” She stops, “when it’s done I need a gloss coat” eyes Rose. And then looks at Finn asking for help with the speaker system they’ll be replacing in the WRX, as well as adding a fin, and stripe to the top of it. “Connix, I know you work, and I’m asking a lot from you because of it, but I want you to work for me.”

Connix stares at her blankly. “You’ll loose your healthcare, Rey, if I do that. There are so many expenses...”

“That’s the other news.” The air seems to stand still before them. Rey swallows, “I’ve always dreamed of the day I’d spring this on you guys and now that it’s here- I’m nervous. Just keep an open mind...” Rey pulls out the map of the land she owns far behind the shop and to the right of the strip. “This is a map of the property I own,” they men come up to the desk they’re sitting on. Ben pulls her close to him. “I want to divide it and offer you a place to build.”

“Build what?” Connix chokes out. 

“Build your homes. I have a few contractors that come through here on a monthly bases that have agreed to meet with you if you wanted to go ahead with this.” The room is completely silent. So quiet you can hear Rey’s stomach growl. “I’ve been saving since we were little digging out that pool...she nods to the right. We didn’t deserve the hands we were dealt, but you stood by me, and I you,” She trails shakily. “I have enough for both of you to break ground if you want to live here.”

The girls are sobbing messes hugging their friend. “What about you? You can’t live in that room, Rey. If you’re really proposing to do this for us, you can’t live in the shop anymore.” Rose starts. 

“I just need your help to finish all of these projects for Phaux’s. Once it’s done based on what it’s sold, Ben and I will be able to do the same.” Ben tilts Rey’s chin up to him as he hovers over her and kisses her in front of them. She smiles into him, “this is my dream- and all of those places I want to visit from the magazines.”

“Ooo! What places?” asks Connix. 

“I’ll show you later. But for now, is it ok that I’d offered this to you? 

“You’re amazing, Rey. If I said no I’d feel like I spat in your face.” says Rose holding Finn. 

She shares her shy smile. It’s been a long time coming. If she’d of known her true birthday and age, instead of the one she made up to feel like she knew herself, she’d say she was about right in all of her advancements in age. There’s so much she wants to remain unearthed, rotting to nothing but dust so not even a fleeting memory can rekindle that fire. She prays inwardly that this will help ebb the need to fight. To know her family is taken care of. To know that they will be safe in her absence. If there ever was one. She’s called back from her thoughts feeling Ben’s warm breath beside her neck, trying to ask her if she wants anything. The entrancement of her thoughts peel away slowly, allowing reality to become clear. She blinks up at Ben, “Sorry?”

“We’re ordering Mexican, just wondering what you’d like.”

“Oh, something spicy from wherever, with lots of cheese.”

“Loaded Jalapeño Nachoes- C4” says Finn, “aptly named- you’ll feel that tomorrow...”

Ben looks towards her again to see if she can handle it. “The hotter the better,” she flops her head to the side. He can’t get enough of that look. 

“Your mouth is going to burn.”

“And so will everything else I lick.” And there it is. The wild fire she sets off inside him, flaring through his eyes back to her. 

Poe breaks their concentration, “what, um- what are you looking to do with the bikes? Like do you have a pallet or effects you want on them.”

‘Later’ she mouths to Ben who she’s now charged multiple times today. Rey pulls up the list of bikes with notes, “The Black Cobra will be black obviously. I don’t think a gloss will be necessary there. I kind of want it to look matted but appear brushed in a way. Kind of like that antiqued look.” She cracks her gum, getting up from the desk asking him to follow. Rey mindlessly grabs her headphones and applies the jack to the front speaker system, Machinehead’s rift plays through the speakers bringing attention to her. She cranks it the way she would thinking through her projects. “God, yes!” Ben watches her sigh. He doesn’t understand so he strides with them down the hangar. He watches her soak in the music, rolling her shoulders and accepting it in the poor acoustics down the hangar. “I guess I’ll be fixing that too,” she mutters to herself. 

Poe laughs, “What’s this side of you?”

“The mated side,” she cracks her gum. It takes Ben’s breath away, Lenny Kravits rips through the speakers next as they get to the bikes. She points at everything she wants painted on the Black Cobra in that antiquing brushed look she explained. The 250cc I think has the most cover space. I want to do something completely brand new with it. I want to make the rider look like they’re floating.” 

Poe looks at her like she’s nuts. This is the most she’s spoken to her where she wasn’t trying to kill him. Rey rapid fire cracks her gum breaking him from his thoughts, “what do you mean?” 

“Do you think you could fabricate the fiberglass here in a thin gauged chrome sheet? If you make the pieces, I can weld them so you can finish them off.”

Poe nods, crossing his arms and trying to conceal his amusement with her. 

“The top will be a black matte coat, regular fiberglass, unless you have a better idea.” She slides her hand down the top of the bike to the seat, “I want this all to match in some way, even if you have to continue the texture of the fabric all the way in either direction.” She sighs pulling her hand back. “If we pull this off this- this will be my favorite fucking piece.”

Now Poe has heard her swear before, but this was heady even for him to accept from her. 

“The other two- up to you. The kids seem to be after unlikely colors, like if you can inlay two colors, make it look like there’s depth to it, that would be ideal...or the angled edgings to over accentuate the bike. Make it look ‘faster’” he watches her roll her eyes. Rey smells rather than sees Ben now behind her like his obvious bite wasn’t enough, he felt the need to still stake his claim. Rey instinctively turns into him, humming appreciatively at his reminder of him, “Do you Ride?” She purrs pressing the back of her head into his chest. 

“Systems check?” He offers, his hair flopping carelessly in his face, he was flirting with her need for speed. Wanting to experience this with her since he’d seen it the first time.

“Alright, babe,” she toes out of her work boots, picking them up, padding to a locker he didn’t notice. She pulls a stool from it, a pair of long boots she slips into, zipping up the side of each calf carefully. ‘Helmets,’ she remembers to put the stool back in the locker, pulls the tie from her hair and grabs two helmets from it. Rey loves the shielded helmets so she doesn’t bother with buying anything else. She tosses Ben the red one and she keeps the blue.

Ben looks at her like she’s trying to seduce him as she straddles the R6. His eyes are hooded almost asking ‘why the long boots?’ “There’s a lot to learn about me Ben... fun fact- I don’t like wearing pants.” She says silkily, rev’ing the engine, cracking her gum before sliding her helmet on. 

“Well. Shit.” Poe stammers out.

Ben takes his chances straddling behind her. ‘Comedown’ by Bush’s rift fills her senses as his body forms behind her. His helmet now on, gives him the ability to snake his arms shamelessly around her. He holds her hips tightly against his growing girth. She grinds back as if he’s sitting to straight, before lifting her feet and gunning it down the strip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- I had to edit her shop location to being in Corn Creek. I know it’s a fan fic but having the shop in a location that was atomically tested on is really messing with my brain.


	5. Stats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey is battling with presenting to others even though she’s mated. Connix and Rose go to get her some answers while Ben uses his Alpha instincts to help her through her frustrations.

The sun has been setting to the west of the strip and is low enough to cast shadows well over it as they pass before it. As she tears it down the strip, she realizes the little tease she wants to be. Ending her ride with him at the end of the strip, she stands at her straddle of the bike, drifting her hands back to grip them over his thighs, supporting an elongated grind over his bulge. His chest is heaving hard with the restlessness of the sexual charge cast over them this entire day. He holds her in place over him with his left hand, moving the tiny piece of fabric that made her shorts, shorts- instead of a mini skirt. He slides his middle finger down her clit over her folds, achingly slowly. He refrains from dipping in because that will be the end of him. Her breathing becomes labored as he teases her at this deliciously slow pace. She pulls off her helmet, dropping it beside her, then reaches back for his releasing him from it too. She moans at the appreciative sound he makes being free of it. “Kylo,” she pants, “please” kicking down the stand so the bike doesn’t fall, “Please I need you...” She mewls as he sinks two long fingers down into her, here whole body arches into him. Rising and falling against him, “Ben PLEASE!”

He lifts her off the bike still with his fingers inside her, sliding out and around her thigh as he starts to put her down. While she’s wet and wanting, she’s found releasing her desire breaking his concentration from between her legs to her temptress figure stalking him, opening his severely spend stained jeans. She stares up at him, releasing his enormous member into her tiny hands. She knows there’s no way he’ll fit, but the fire in his eyes, the scar on his face... she knows she’d give him anything even if she’s obviously a novice lover. ‘He’ll teach me.’ She lowers and he inhales sharply at this sight. Her eyes hood over, offering pecks upon his head, steadying herself with her right hand over his thigh. She notices his breathing. It’s an unspoken guide. Pushing her lips into him down his shaft, past her left hand to the base of him. She shares her hot breath over him extending a broad lick all the way back to his tip sweating with pre-come. There’s a spark of pride knowing the power she had over him, but nothing would prepare her for the smoldering look he was boring into her. Flicking her eyes up to his, she burns in place. Purposely staring him down and taking him in gradual dips, each more distinct than the last until his breathing runs ragged. He gyrates into her, fisting her hair in place. At times he’s too deep so she sucks harder getting him to relent on the depth. “Aah! Rey!” He grits through his teeth. She continues until she can feel him pulsate over her tongue. Welcoming him and his spend while he hisses her name. “How?” He rasps as she licks up the rest of it. 

“How what? She bites her lip as she stands with this man she loves. 

“How,” He waves his hand over this action between them, “How?” 

She lifts her eyebrow at his constant question. “How what? She repeats cocking her head to the side again.

“How did you know how to do that?” His question is almost accusatory of not being her first time and she can hear it in his delivery. 

She pushes her fingertips against him like she did while surveying his car. “You told me what you liked. I followed...you. Your breathing...your gaze... you.” She gently tucks him back in his pants, securing them to him as she notices the delivery guy pull up. She bends to pick up the helmets offering one to him and sliding hers back on. “Give me a ride back?” Her question is only posed as one, it’s actually a command, seductive and feminine in its own right. He nods straddling the seat, kicking up the stand, and reveling in the way her body curves into his. Her tiny hands holding his chest tightly as he increases speed down the strip, back into the hangar. 

The music starts keening through her body again setting off her own pheromones all over. Of course she’s unaware of it when she lifts off the back of the bike lifting the face shield, “How far away is your place from here?” He knows she’s going to quickly test the rest of them when he smells her. 

He lifts off the bike, grabbing her wrist, “if we go anywhere tonight, it’s in a car. Do not do anymore systems checks tonight.” His voice seems to knock the wind out of her. It was a command. Her Alpha commanded her. Instead of being angry about it, it soothes her, but she’s unaware of why he’d have the audacity to tell her not to do her job. She takes off her helmet, and then his. He bends to help her, then openly licks her in front of everyone including the delivery guy... who seems to also be stunned by her smell. All of a sudden she doesn’t feel protected. She notices there’s something wrong with her if she’s presenting even though she’s mated. 

“What’s wrong with me?” She whispers. 

“Nothing.” He strides with her to the pool. Peeling her boots off her legs, dropping them as they move. “You need another smell to mask you.” He whispers before throwing her into the pool.

The girls gape at him and his incredulous smile. Part of him enjoyed that, but the underlying problem was a problem. It made sense to him now why she always carried and was a little punk when they first met. She was not just a pretty little omega. Rey was something more. His father’s line ‘looks like she’s too much for you...’ he shakes his head. ‘She’s everything I need. What though? what...what’s happening?’ 

He lets out a sigh, as she makes her way back to him splashing purposely, “what the hell was that?” 

“What’s an Alpha-Omega?” 

Finn drops his soda stunned to hear him say it. As if the thought was to stay back in the truck.

“What?” Rey asks treading effortlessly, her hair hanging around her like a veil over her shoulders. 

Rose and Connix cover their mouthes. ‘Pardon Me’ pulses through the speakers as the Phoenix within her starts to boil the water. Purposely descending straight down to the bottom and sitting a while. Her hair looks like chestnut watercolor paint sweeping through it. 

“What’s she doing?”

“Tying her hair back most likely.” Answered Rose. Sure enough the cloud of Brown was now tightly fastened onto the top of her head. “She doesn’t like how the wet hair tugs on her dry fingers. So if she wants it up- that’s what she does.” 

Rey comes back up to the middle of the pool, asking Ben’s question again. “We honestly don’t know much about it but you present like it, it’s why you wanted to protect us, and kill any other alpha that came around. It’s why-well one of the reasons you’re attracted to Ben. His potency is what puts you forward... but I’m not a doctor.. I’m just going on what Paige found before your last heat.” Says Rose.

“I can make another gyno appointment to find out if you really present like that.” Offers Connix. 

“What’s the difference? I can’t be happily mated? Is that it?” Hovered over isn’t something she’s ok with. She squeezes out the water from her bun before pulling herself out of the pool. Grabbing a towel she can’t help but feel sad. Disappointed maybe. Not in Ben. In her own chemical make-up. Her unguarded-self dries off and goes to change asking Ben to give her a moment. She’s quick to change, strides past them as the eat to the back shed. She pissed. 

“Where’s she going? 

“She’s going to go beat the shit out of the bag in the shed. If you value your life, don’t follow her.” Says Poe bulging his eyes. Ben doesn’t listen, he follows her carefully looking back to them all shaking their heads in protest. Focusing back to the shed she’s letting out a fury that he’d only seen war torn veterans release after too many strikes on their mental state. The kind that knocks the instigator off their feet. She hits the bag with such force over and over that the pin breaks and it falls from the rafter. Rey grits her teeth and screams at it before dropping to her knees in the agony that she can’t just be happy. 

Ben creeps into the building. 

Up at the pool Finn shrugs to Poe, “Well he’s dead.” opening his burrito. 

“Pity.”

“We need to figure out a solution for her,” says Rose who is hellbent on trying to fix ‘someone’s’ problem. She dismisses feeling like her mother, “she’s the last person that deserves this.” 

Connix nods putting her nachos and Ben’s order in the grill to keep it warm. ‘Cold cheese is gross unless it’s on a deli sandwich.’”remind me that’s there.” addressing everyone. “Excuse me for a second...” Connix grabs her phone. 

“Where are you going?” 

“Going to schedule a gyno appointment.” 

The guys go running away like she was threatening to snip their sacks. This amuses Rose but Connix has no time for it. They’re only open on Wednesday’s till 8pm. She dials and walks briskly to the lobby. 

Rose sits by herself. Something about the quiet has her delving into the calm. Watching the water ripple by the jets, the slight twinge in the sparse foliage as the breeze slightly blew by. She idly wondered what happened to Rey all those years ago and what rage fit she was dispensing in the shed. Thinking maybe she should go in, ‘no her mate is in there,’ shaking her head, ‘not a good idea.’ 

Connix rips open the door, not thinking it was that hard of a pull until she realized everyone turned to see her entry. “Ok, thanks. Bye.” Looking at Rose, “Put your shoes on, we’re going for a ride. Finn I’m taking Rose. Don’t let Rey eat anything until we get back. For that matter don’t let either - they can have water until we come back ok?”

Finn gives a thumbs up behind his back and the girls go. 

——

“How much you want to bet Ben’s dead in there?” asks Poe.

“I do agree she could maim anyone if she wanted to, but she loves him. She won’t hit him, not even if he asks her to.” Finn shakes his head as if he needed to drive the point home. He notices the music Rey had on her headphones. “Interesting blend.”

Poe laughs. Nodding at him. “I wouldn’t label her an ‘Alice In Chains’ kind of girl but it is kind of nice getting to see her loosen up without those headphones on.” 

Finn nods. “It’s something of an alter ego for her I guess. Kind of like when she does those systems checks. I swear to God there’s an ego shift.” 

“I’m tempted to stay until they kick us out to listen to the whole set she had saved on the headphones. Connix said she took apart someone’s iPod and made it with those components-“

“Yeah. That thing is a quality piece.” 

“What about that other news about the land and houses. Part of me is really taken away with it but being a man it kind of messes me up a little knowing I couldn’t do it. I’m older than her, and she’s been able to save and provide for her ‘sisters’ as individuals, doesn’t that kind of eat at you too?” 

And then there it’s, the social status song ‘What It’s Like’ they notice the songs bares the lyrics:

“I've seen a rich man beg I've seen a good man sin  
I've seen a tough man cry  
I've seen a loser win and a sad man grin  
I heard an honest man lie  
I've seen the good side of bad and the downside of up  
And everything between.”

Guiltily Finn starts, “We really shouldn’t look down at a gift from her. Or sideways stare at ourselves. She’d say we’ve given her more. To Rey, money is a social thing that doesn’t bring her anything real. She must just think of it like a tool to fix something. Like the tools in her garage... or food. It’s just a way to lighten the load.”

Finn sounds like he’s aged and Poe can respect it. He raises his beer in cheers to what he’s said. Accepting it. Letting the girls go on the project as they always have. As un-Alpha-like as it is. He can’t bring himself to upset Rey even with their history, even with being challenged constantly... being tased and shot at... he didn’t want her to be crestfallen over an ego dispute. It was almost as though years of maturity had finally settled in Poe’s mind too. He shakes the thought of maturity. He was having too much fun being his youthful-minded self. 

——

Connix and Rose are driving to the store to get a blood tester kit for both of them. “The gyno office said that they’re easy to use and anonymous- kind of like pregnancy tests. They said it comes with a color coded chart explaining their levels based on a prick of blood.”

“Did you know about these? Like before? I don’t remember them in school.” 

“Nah, my Aunt had my brother and I tested through the clinic. We were always in and out of schools that presenting at puberty could be dangerous depending on what we wound up being. The both of us are Betas. I could have sworn Jae was an Alpha because he was such a devoted asswipe.” They have a laugh, “As we grew up I started noticing a joint tantrum that both Alphas and Beta men could have. So then I started wondering if there was a better test. When this was offered it was just too expensive and now ten years later it’s on the shelves at any market. Gyno said it should be $22 for each kit but they’re the most accurate things out.”

Rose nods. “Do you think it will give her some peace?”

“I think it will give her a starting place. Like she already knows shes mostly omega, but they’re not supposed to be front line assassins like Rey.” She giggles. “That’s why I’m pretty sure she’s a mix like Paige said ‘Alpha-Omega.”

“If she is, what does that mean for Ben then?”

“It better be true love and not just lust because the fits of rage that she can have will devastate him, even if he doesn’t know it’s coming. Do you know if Alpha’s mate with other Alpha’s?”

“I can’t imagine it being impossible. I mean the others have doubled up. They aren’t the easiest things to watch but love is love, babe.” teases Rose. 

The girls make it to the shop, find the tests, and a few things to take the edge off. “I don’t think that boy has a change of clothes,” says Connix grabbing a couple of sizes of packaged boxers and undershirts and gym shorts from the rack..”what size do you think he is?” The girls share a laugh. 

“I don’t know? Large?” 

“Extra large?” They double down laughing. Clerics and shopper stragglers for this time of night all stare. 

Rose literally has to come up for air, fanning herself from laughing at their immaturity. “Ok ok... something sweet for dessert,” grabbing a bag of Hershey Kisses.

“And Sierra Nevada- yep you heard me,” she looks at Rose’s lifted eyebrow, “I’ll get the babes something regular. Finn drinks Heineken, right?” plucking it out of the fridge. “Rose?” Connix puts it in the cart and pushes it over to where she last heard her. “Rose?”

“Yeah? Yes! Sorry...I think I found something.” Rose is staring down romanticizes versions of multiple presentations of their names biology but found a medical journal that seems to go into detail about each one. “I’m buying this.” It’s like they found a gold mine.

“Ok let’s check out,” they make their way back to the counter, calling to check in with the guys on their way. “They haven’t come out? Are you sure?” There’s a pause as Connix empties the cart at the register, “no, no don’t check on them. He’d of been out by now if she beat him senseless.” The cleric looks at her with mirth thinking of a woman ever being a champ in that form of aggression, until Connix gives him a disapproving glare. “Maybe she’s letting down a wall now that she doesn’t really have a handle on things. I don’t know. Are all the trucks in the lot? Yes I know she can drive anything. If you’re that worried go do a count. We’ll be back in fifteen minutes. Rose go get another test- charge me for another one,” telling him to scan the box a third time. He does allowing Rose to pop it into her fourth bag unchecked. The receipt said they paid for it so what was the big deal? Leaving towards the store walking towards the car she gave Rose the extra pair of keys to lace between her fingers in self defense. It’s the only good information she’d acquired from her mom all those years ago. Luckily they seldom needed it and wouldn’t need it tonight either. Loading the car and rev’ing the engine like a man, Connix made their way back to the boys. 

—-  
Meanwhile Rey is cramming the pin back into the rafter in rage. It claps finally. She walks back to her ready position whispering all she wants to forget. Closing her eyes looking away from the the bag, lifting her eyebrows, praying maybe. Wishes don’t wash away this pain. Rey shrugs through it, grabbing a long staff looking stick, turning to stalk the bag again. Beads of sweat roll down her brow, if removed from the pain of these feelings he’d have to say it is the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Knowing she was hurt by this he stood back in the shadows and watched. He did his best to hear what she said. The quietly expelled poisons she’d admit with every attack. Each more forceful than the last until her final blow which cracked the rafter. Albeit old, she cracked it just the same. Ben did not hesitate to rip her out of harms way pulling her into him in case it collapsed on her after that magnificent show of power. 

“What? Why are you-“ 

“In here? Protecting you. Learning about you... that was an intimate moment for yourself but right up there- I’ll quote you, “the sexiest damn thing” I’ve ever seen. Fun Fact,” he pushes up into her, barreling down onto her lips, “Im a master of Niman and Juyo; it’s similar to what you’ve done here...but they’re the true stances.”

Rey doesn’t know what to make of this. The form she has is from one of the videos and pure unadulterated rage that she’s trying to control. “Train me,” she manages out.

“First food. You haven’t eaten all day.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Rey.”

“For food. Teach me. Kylo.”

He can’t resist her when she calls him that. “Fine. Outside. Line up by my side.” These are commands like she’s one of his men. He grabs the handle of a broom that’s seen better days, snapping it from the base. 

“Not everything in here is junk. You now owe me a broom.”

He swats her hard on the bottom charging the space even though they’re outside now. 

Finn and Poe watch them as they’re finally out of the shed. They barely hear them, but see their positions change. 

Ben counts out each movement by numbers so she can understand. She does each with her staff, and he’s becoming annoyed with the stances she is mimicking because of them. He goes to lunge for her staff to break it and she’s knows he’s up to no good. 

“Do not break my staff Ben.” 

He eyes her. It’s both a command and a challenge. She’s confident enough in the stances. “Spar? With that then?”

“Yes.”

His eyes are hooded. “Best of three falls?”

“If I win, you leave my staff alone.” 

“Fine. If I win, you go back and eat your dinner.” 

She laughs in his face, “I’ll eat if I want to Ben, but you’re not breaking my staff. Ever.” She pushes her body into ready position like she was with the bag.

“Ready?”

“Go.”

——

Connix pulls up with Rose, grabbing the groceries and walking around back. The girls stop and listen to grunts and sticks slapping each other. They eye each other. ‘What the hell?’ Rose sets her bags by a chair, looking over at the guys snickering. 

“What’s so funny?”

“Rey is going to kick his ass. He went in and I told him not to. They came out with sticks-“ Poe is way too amused. 

“Um, Poe?” Connix can tell she’s not hitting him even from this distance. “She’s sparring with him. If she was fighting he’d be down already. Look,” she points, “she is purposely jumping too far to the side so she doesn’t hit him with the stick.” 

And with that she throws hers at the ground, pulling his away from him, burying her hands into his hair to kiss him. She whimpers into him, knowing this rush was something he gave to her to help her push away her uncertainty of self. “Thank you, she breathes into him. 

“Feel better?” He matches her fervor.

Nodding into him. “Want to eat?”

“Yes,” he keeps her in his arms as they strut back to the pool. “We’ll figure all of this out together. I won’t give up on you. I just want you to know that.” 

She rewards him with a sob, “Neither will  
I,” leaning sweet kisses into him. 

——  
Connix steps in to greet them keeping her hands on the grill. “Your food is in here but I need you to do something first. Finn can warm them up now but I need both of you to take this test for me.” Connix sounds like the Mom Rey never had but always wanted. 

“Okay,” Rey says carefully as Ben sets her on her feet. 

“It’s just a finger prick. It checks your levels and will help us figure out anonymously what you need so that this stays private. I can’t imagine what being a mix might feel like Rey, but the rest of the world will want to study you. I’m sure that’s not what you want suggesting this mostly private lifestyle you have out here.” She pulls at the bag for two tests, one boxes in a black package for men, and white for women, both labeled ‘Slate’. The branding suggested your biology was your starting point. All that you were well before puberty made no difference-that it was only your make up that was important to sustaining life on this rock. Whatever the meaning was to the company, didn’t matter to Connix. She, like Rose, we’re hellbent on helping Rey. 

Pulling away the plastic on each box, and opening the thick card stock box, first from the men’s strip, and blank test and a chemical compound that sat inside a plastic box. The same test comes out of the feminine box with the only differences between them is “Slate A/B/O Test for Men” on Ben’s and “for Women” on Rey’s. She supposed the difference is in the chemical strips. “Ok...” pulling both directions from the box, she finds three sterile pins, “oh good,” she takes one from each just in case some how they’re different. Opening Rey’s first, she speaks the directions to Rey, “Using pin, prick into a finger to draw blood. Apply one drop to each section, Alpha, Beta and Omega blood-strip. Sections are marked.” Rey reaches for the pin, but Connix tells her to wait, “this is time sensitive so we read all of the instructions before you start.” Rey should know this what with her reading manuals and all but this is an answer she’s dying for. “Holy hell Rey, where’d you get this music? I’m gonna need this one, referring to the music coming through now. What is this?”

“Lady Wood.” She smirks. “Listen to the words...” she starts to sing the chorus. Her voice angelic:  
“Perfect imperfections 

With mistakes and a unlearned lessons yeah, you give me wood. 

Give me lady wood

Dirty on the inside

Damaged goods with nothing but pride yeah, you give me wood

Give me lady wood”

She flushes bright red with an amazing cackle at Connix’s look, “Tove Lo, love her- Unrefined... just like me.”

“Ok! ok,” snorts Con. “We’ll have to go for a ride later so we can listen to that in better acoustics. But for now,” she clears her throat. “After the blood part you’ll put the strip on top of the chemical strip and the test behind that. Leaving it in the box for five minutes solid it’s supposed to read the count and give you a line in each section that you present in. Then there’s this breakdown for after. Are you ready?”

Rey eyes are wide and nods, taking the pin, she scrunches her nose when she pricks her finger. Following the directions she places a full drop on each section, the pieces are put together correctly as per the directions. Ben does his at the same time. He has no reason to believe that he’ll pose as a different presentation but he does this for Rey’s sanity. 

Finn has their food ready and calls them over. “It might taste like barbecue now but that’s not all that bad right?” 

“Thanks Finn,” Rey smiles at him. Ben thanks him too as he devours his. Rey looks at him like he hasn’t seen food for months the way he stuffed his face. She wonders what he went through when he was deployed, if he had to deal with starvation like she did, as she watches him stuff his face. Rey offers some of her food to everyone. She looks at her plate as if she can’t eat all of it. Appreciatively everyone takes at least a bite before Rey starts to take from the pile. She eats a small portion enjoying the heat. 

Before she knows it the tests are ready. Connix reads the results page. “A thin line will appear in each box you present in. Depending on how high or low the line is in the box is how high or low your levels are.” They both open their tests.

“Well that’s no surprise,” Ben says tossing his test onto the small drink table in front of them. 

Connix leans over to see, “Good to know.”

His test bares a single line at the highest level as an Alpha. Rey smirks about hers, “how accurate are these?” Wanting to crumple up hers, she hands back hers to Connix, “why can’t I be normal?” 

“Rey...” Ben starts. 

“Why do you think I’d always call you a goddess? Test or not, you’re something else. You’ve always been.” Grabbing her hands, with one of hers and lifting her chin so Connix can look into Rey’s eyes. “Let her out, Rey. You don’t have to guard her anymore.”


	6. Deserving You

“Phaux’s is your favorite time of year - better than Christmas. You of all people need to do what makes you happy. If it makes you happy to work then work. Finish the Phaux pieces - but do yours too. You used to keen over that all the time. Control the room as you do. Did fighting make you feel better?”

“Yes.” Ben’s arms tighten around her. 

“Sex?” 

“Con!” Poe commands her. 

“This has nothing to do with you Poe.” She hisses.

“Yes.” Rey’s honesty is blistering. 

“Music through the speakers?”

“Yes.”

“Then do it. Handle the aftereffects, if they come. Remember that you’re not on your own anymore. You have Ben. Your Mate. You have us. Your family. You do not walk alone.”

“Thanks Mama-Con’” Rey says bringing her in to a hug.

“Ok-just for shits, can I try one?” Asks Rose. 

“What? A test?” blinks Rey.

“Yeah. I want to see if your badass-ery rubbed off on any of us. I read somewhere that it could happen. I mean we’ve been with you for, well, almost ten years now.” 

“I got a second kit just in case.”  
Con’ winks. “Says, twelve hours after you eat.. so tomorrow morning.” 

“We’ll bring breakfast. Finally going to work together as a family! Oh my god we’re ALL going to be here.” Rose shines brightly. 

“Maybe just bring food to make it here?” asks Rey. 

“I can help with that,” Ben’s voice is low. Something about it stops her breathing. “Cooking that is.” He remembers Rey likes that he knows how. She rubs her neck into his arm in appreciation. 

“What’s this?” Asks Poe rummaging in the other bags. He skims his hand over a book, clothes...? “who’s clothes are these?” 

“Mama-Con?” Rose teases. 

“We weren’t sure if he had any other clothes here or if he lived close enough to change and all. Whatever doesn’t fit we can return.” She says without a second thought. 

“You’re angels, you know that?” Rey gleams.

“Thank you,” Ben says, his voice incredulously low. He received the bag from Rose. This is such a strange set up to him but they all filled rolls as they felt they needed to. It reminds him of his time in the service. You had your job, but you picked up the slack for your brother in arms if necessary. They were warriors, even if they weren’t marked with reservations to any specific military group. They were fighters in the ‘free world’. He sighs into her, “Did you still want to go for a ride?”

“We can still go-but I haven’t worked on your car yet. I’m over due...” she says sweetly. “We can take mine.”

“What’s still left to do on it?” Asks Poe from across the pool. He’s secretly wanted to buy that car from her even though it was feminine as fuck. He tries to hide his thoughts from the conversation but she knows better. The more he flops his hair he shows his nervousness. 

“I’m going to inlay LED lights in the body so it looks like a shooting star when I drive at night.” She seems wistful, carefree almost when she says it. 

“You’re going to drive an illegal car?”

“I can drive it if it’s not on in traffic, I’m not dumb...but it would look beautiful on the flats...”

“Would you accept an offer on it if you got one?” Asks Poe.

“I don’t know. I’ll know when I get there I guess.” She yawns a little, “if you wanted to go,” Rey looks back at Ben, “we should go before I get too tired.”

“I can drive.”

Rose chokes on a piece of chocolate. Finn eyes her. ‘Sorry!’ She mouths. 

Rey stands thanking the girls first and then waving at Finn and Poe. “You’re welcome as always to stay as long as you want, just lock up when you’re done, yeah?”

“Yep!” Poe’s always the one that answers for the lock up comment- even when he’s drunk. 

Rose waits until the door shuts behind them, “OH MY GOD! Did Rey just agree to go out?” She tries not to shout her excitement. Listening for the roar of her BRZ’s engine before she can squeal with delight. 

Rey makes it past the door with Ben. It just closes, clicking shut when he devours her. So much control had been spent outside with their family. Her rage fit, their session, he hums internally getting her following him step by step, sparring, that silly test, ‘fuck-the way she sings and moves’ he over accentuates ‘moves’ in his mind. He guides her back into the wall. His forcefulness palpable, remembering her answers to Connix’s bold questions. “The sex makes you feel better?” He wolfishly grins into her. 

“Isn’t it obvious?” 

“What’s the best part? 

She raises an eyebrow, “that it’s with you.” She assures him this wouldn’t be happening if it wasn’t. 

“I want you.”

“You have me. I’m yours. 

“In my bed.”

Rey widens her smile. “Come on, babe,” He grips her hard enough for her to spill her come over the floor while he holds her against the wall. He makes a low long grumble telling her to get a change of clothes quickly before they stay and he fucks her blind. 

She kisses him hard, nodding at his release. She’s quickly up and back down the stairs, boots on because she owns nothing else, except for the knee high boots she uses for riding, a clip of a wallet that only has four spaces, three of which hold her licenses, and the last that holds a bank card. He watches her clip it to the side of her bra, hanging it over her left rib cage. He knows he’s never seen anyone do that. She’s fisting her keys tightly. He smirks, his hair flopping around carelessly, “Where to?” She smiles sweetly.

He puts out his hand waiting for the keys, but she is keen to it, puts her hand in his and pulls him down the hangar just before the bikes, right by the door, sits something under a large grey cloth. She proudly pulls the cloth from the hood, back to the fin, clean off, rolling the fabric and tossing it towards her locker from before. It’s gorgeous just like her. If she was a machine, this is what she’d embody. It’s a 2013 Subaru BRZ. It’s wildly painted, from the nose it’s white to pale yellows that gradually burn brightly to sunflower yellow to a neon orange to the tail, that reminds him of the sunsets he’s seen with her here. The colors move over the car in organic bands, painted to look like it’s moving even though it isn’t. The fin is high, maybe eight inches off the back. Not quite a spoiler or a whale tail, but right in the middle. He notices stencils that she’s removed from the body to match the paint job. “This is my light.” She touches her heart, “Rey” then touches the car, “of light”. She smiles her bright smile and he’s—- he can’t breathe. He’s stunned.

“You made this?” Is all he can figure out how to say. 

She smiles, “It came in as a wreck, but there’s no such thing as junk. Just new beginnings.” She sees his eyes rake over it. 

“Don’t sell this.”

“I don’t plan to.”

“Poe’s question?”

“Poe’s wanted it since the day he laid eyes on it. It’s mine.” ‘The Way That I Am’ echos through her. It’s a look into her past. Poe was competition is what he heard, but he never had a chance. Then he met Connix and it evened him out. “Come on, lets go for a ride,” she strides to her door, dropping the rest of the key chain down as it hangs from the drivers key pinched between her fingers. His heart thuds loudly in his chest as she opens her door and lowers to the driver’s seat the same way she did in his. She raises her eyebrows at him until he realizes this is his queue to get in. She grins as he does. Waiting for him to close the door, she pulls her left leg in silkily and shuts the door with a quick slam. Just enough to close it firmly. 

The interior is just as beautiful inside as out. It’s black with a deep orange glow under the dashboard. There’s a stripe of golden LEDs that contours with the dash itself. He’s not sure how but she’s made it look as if the light is rippling into other colors in a thick plexiglass strip that curves back into the body of the dash’s design. It almost looks like the tail of a comet is inside of the car to as sections of the roof and sides that have been matched up to the cuts in the ceiling and sides as her sources of seat lamps, the seats are black leather with initials embroidered into them. “What does RK” stand for.” He asks.

“Rey Kenobi.”

“Like the fragrance?”

“No, like the cereal box with that silly old bear on it” she admits, “I didn’t have a last name. I’m not even sure if Rey is my name. I just thought Kenobi sounded like a pretty flower or bird...something that could be more.”

“You are more.” He watches her smirk. Pushing the key forward starting the ignition. 

“Finn was able to get this off of the headphones.” The base in the car is so loud it rumbles through then seats, it’s the artist she reflects with from before. It’s so loud she drops the windows and it still blisters through the night. Their eyes meet and she mouths, ‘Where to?’

He mimics, “Sun City,” knowing she needs this, loud and thumping. She nods once, rev’ing the engine over the radio, heading out of hangar. She sees the night as a playground because he’s here with her. It’s about a half hour from her. She can only focus on the freedom he’s providing her peeling out into the night. He watches as she effortlessly shifts through gears throughout traffic and then Route 95. Good Lord. Every moment he spends learning something else about her the harder it is to resist. The air has cooled since the day and wiping down the highway and helps snap her back to his presence. She pulls up the windows and down the radio to a whisper. 

“How did you get home the night we met? You weren’t just down the road. And Rose said you walked off.” 

“I eventually made it to a motel and stayed there for a few days” he admits” I called the shop to see if you were ok, and Poe said to give you another day...so I walked back the next day.” He watches her expression, skating his hand over her thigh. “I needed to see you again.” 

“I’m glad you did.” She giggles, “God that was such a day...you must of thought ‘me a bitch.”

“No...”

“Bullshit.”

He stares at her, “you were a fire starter that’s for sure, but not a bitch.”

“When did you know?” 

“Know what?”

“That I was worth your time. My heat is not a starting place.” She lifts an eyebrow. 

He flares red but is thankful it’s night time and a new moon. But she can sense it in the way his body ridges and his hand seams to sweat between them. “Is it an Alpha thing to be able to sense shifts in people?” She adds to the questions for him. 

He lets out a sigh, “No that’s a human thing, and your bluntness to be able to push the questions you have out. You call it ‘unrefined’ but the rest of us call it ‘honesty’. You’re painfully honest. There’s no walls to what you can say to people.” He pauses watching her shift and change lanes around traffic. “I knew I needed to find out more about you when you hung yourself off of the fence and basically told me to ‘get the fuck out’ if I was there to fuck you. No one has ever been that forward, except drill Sergeants and officers.” His honesty has him reliving it. “That day-“ he blows a huff of a breath out of him. He pulls bits of it that had his heart all but stopping. “How did you know Poe was in danger?”

“He doesn’t shoot on the regular, but has always loved that gun. It didn’t go off. I heard the slap of the grip and the holster drop...”

“How? 

“Survival.” Her scent spikes saying it. “I trained myself to hear, almost sense if I was being hunted based on the way things sounded. Heavy steps used to thunder through me when I was a kid it meant a beating.” She clears her throat, taking a deep breath. “I heard Poe get struck and his thud. And all I could think of was Con.” 

“Ah...”

Rey down shifts getting off at Sun City, I gives directions and she keeps talking about that little show. “You know I knew you were in the shadows. It seems to be your thing,” she teases. “I could smell you.”

“Oh? Was it in spite over your cot?” 

Rey flat out laughs, “No. You gave me a generous amount of power over you and I figured I’d use it. Give you a little parting gift if you were really going to storm out like your body was basically telling me, Mr. Darkness.”

“Fuuuuck” he hisses looking at the roof. 

She giggles, stopped at a red light. Rey throws it into park and leans a slow open mouthed kiss into him, broadly licking over his tongue until the light turns green. 

“I’m so glad your mine.” 

“Me too.” She smiles sitting back into her seat. “Now, where to?”

Sun City is breathtaking at night. Everyone seems to sport some sort of light fixture around their home. Whether pointing up at a tree or shimmering through a fountain before a hotel, it was unmistakably beautiful. Rey begins to wonder what it looks like during the day. The houses she drives by in his suburban area, look like castles to her. “I’m at 44, coming up, to the right.” He pushes out in a rush, as if she’s not staying. 

He watches Rey smile softly, “ok Ben” she purrs trying to sooth him. Pulling into a long driveway that’s lit along the sides by tiny lanterns. 

“Pull all the way in.” He’s almost breathless. She does. Pulling the key from the ignition, she steps out carefully, he exits too and just as she closes her door he’s embraced her. It takes her by surprise as he pushes her up against the car, his hands pull at her, and then she moans, loud. He hardens in an instant. He slows remembering she has no real control over her volume, “Come on,” tugging on her to follow him through his house.

“Come on what?” She teases. 

He realizes she’s playing with his words and doesn’t miss a beat, closing the door behind them, “Me.” He scoops her up because moving through the house will take too long if he drags her there, “in my bed” He rasps tugging her boots and socks off letting them fall wherever. 

“What makes you think we’ll make it there?” 

He’s determined. ‘She can’t keep me from getting there’ he rolled his eyes at her. He takes long strides from the doorway, along a hall way with rooms on either side, she barely remembers a few sitting areas and then her rounds all the while she’s trying to break his thoughts sucking little bruises into his skin. He groans barely getting to the stairwell. Trying to double time up there before loses all of his self control, she grabs the railing. Just to see what he’d do. It’s a quick catch and release that launches them forward onto the hardwood landing. ‘Apt’ she laughs. 

“Why are you keeping me from this?” He huffs holding himself above her.

She giggles and his face loosens at the sound. “I’m just playing with you.”

“Playing?”

She nods wriggling under him, the cold floor now giving her goosebumps. 

“Playing...” he breathes...”Rey I...”

She strains in her balled up position he had her in to reach for his face realizing their pasts over again when her thumb strokes over his scar. His eyes dart down to her hand. Before he knows it she there. Holding her self up to him with the other arm, tugging him down to her, there, on the landing. His hands slide back over her back, pressing her back into him. He braces his muscular legs on the stairs below them, hauling her back up with him, plowing their way down the hall into his room. He stumbles over a chair in the dark before crashing into his bed, her lips still locked on his, pinned under him. He begins to move over her figuring he’d have time to figure out what he may have just destroyed. He finally feels in control of his space, being at his home, in the privacy of his bedroom, FINALLY with his mate. There’s a fervor he’s mentally fighting with. He wants her slow here tonight, but feels the need to keep up with her pace. She’s searching for something. Maybe she’s found it and can’t get enough?

Freeing herself, she wanders through him moving past desire, past physical want, her kisses are thanking him, teaching him about her, she slows, starting a new, delicate rhythm. “Ben?”

He can hardly manage a response, pushing back what sounds like a ‘yes’ trailing kisses down her throat, drawing his teeth over smaller but just as potent glands. ‘What if I bite those too?’ He nips at her. Listening to her breath hitch he releases and does it again, nibbling and pulling at her skin. 

Rey can feel the excitement of his actions surge through her bloodstream. She begs for another bite, anywhere, pouring slick out of her at just the thought. Fisting at his shirt, dying to remove it, she grinds into him, begging him, “Please!”

“I though you wanted to p-l-a-y...” 

Oh!...

He hears the same rumble in his words echo through hers, “oh... I do. But not with this...” she tugs once more at his shirt-it’s not a request. He obliges and allows her to take it from him. “Or with those...” she tries toeing his pants off his hips. Trying a little too hard she winces letting out an awful sound of pain. “Oh! Cramp! Ow!” She whines the laughs and whines again.

He stops mid nibble with a heavy sigh. “You’re quite the bossy one tonight,” he teases, lifting his body off of her to find the light. He taps the base of the lamp three times for the highest setting. Though they were still pretty dim. He notices she’s standing trying to flex her foot out of its cramp. She lets out another strangled whimper as it fights her efforts. Finally it releases and she can’t help but realize him behind her between her and the bed. He exhales over her favorite mark sending her body into overdrive, “How much do you like your clothes?” He slips his thumbs down into the back of her shirt, unhooking her strapless bra, and pulling them softly up her back. He splays his left hand over her stomach, while fishing for the lace between the cups of her now loosened bra. He gently pulls it up, out of her shirt and he watches as her nipples harden under her top. She moans appreciatively, now reaching behind her to undo his jeans. 

“There’s no where for you to go Kylo- I might not be facing you but I know you’ll give me what I want.” She’s got her hands lowering his pants down his legs in an achingly beautiful squat before him. She bites her lip, as the the dim light washes over her body. Her lip pops back out of her mouth as she looks back and up at him. Mindlessly he steps out of them blistering need. He knew she was strong, but flexibility hadn’t been discovered until now. The temptress was back, lifting softly, slowly, gracefully back up from the floor, grinding her body back into his. 

He he’s salivating profusely at this. The goddess is out. She’s released her. The light pouring from her innocence is humbling. He nips at her bite, which he knows is still healing but he wants this. He wants his bite to bring her protection. She already wears it proudly... ‘what’s another bite? First these clothes..’ Groaning, “I always do. We’re you going to answer my question?”

“Hmm?” Knowing full well she knew what he said. She rolls her head back into his chest, “what question was that?” For that he retaliates ripping her shirt right down the middle as if he was opening a present. He’s rewarded with a grind back into him, “Hot...” it’s a fucking moan and he almost can’t control himself anymore. She explores his expert hands experiencing her breasts, melting as she stands with him. She feels herself looking for friction, reveling in him, she pushes one of his mitts down her body over her slit.

“Rey...” he pants. 

“I-“ standing is hard. She quakes as he works his first two fingers into her, she feels her body liquify. “Kylo! Ah! ALPHA YES! She hisses holding his rippling muscles to her body. Her orgasm had him seeing stars and doesn’t realize she’s removed his boxers and he’s sprung in her face. Guiding him to sit she’s got a hold of his cock. Revisiting what he liked during their ‘systems check’ She smirks inwardly. Since he’s sitting this time she rubs into him, imagining her riding him, nice and soft to start. She listens to his cues. Everything he’s involuntarily asking for and then she pulls her hand from his lap down between his legs, softly cradling his sack, when his eyes fly open and onto her. Noticing his spike, she boldly rubs his shaft, thumbing over his head when she leans in to lick his sack. 

He falls flat, “You - you must be the Goddess Peitho ... Rey... do you-“ She boldly sucks a testicle in her mouth, he’s done. He comes hard upward and falling all over her. She feels it drop into her hair, over her shoulder, arm and his stomach. He pants for what feels like an hour. “Do you have any idea what you do to me?” 

“I can guess...” she smiles up at him. 

“Do you want a shower?”

“Not right now...” she uses the scraps of her shirt to wipe up what he’s expelled over the both of them. 

“Take these off,” He weakly motions at her shorts and thong, “no clothes in my bed.” 

She gives him a show, taking them off one at a time achingly slowly. 

“What did I do to deserve you?”

“You know exactly what you did..”crawling over her mate. “I waited my whole life for you,” kissing at his chest, “there’s no reason to hold back from my mate...” she leans down, comfortably lying on top of him. “I love you Ben.” She starts feeling the fatigue of the day, she nods off while he massages her back.

“I love you too.”


	7. Alpha’s Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the shock that Rey actually went out, the couples start with good intentions which quickly turns into servicing their own overdue needs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I fixed this chapter because it was irritating me.

“I can’t even believe she left. Like is she going to circle back?” Asks Poe dumbstruck. 

Finn just looks at him. He knows. He’s always known. That little bit about protecting her like she was his sister was a half truth so he wouldn’t get strangled by another Alpha. Well Ben’s size of an Alpha. Anyone else, he figured he could take... but not him per se. Finn could smell his change in scent and instead of calling him out on it he asked for help in the garage but he refused leaving Finn exasperated.

“Leave the girl alone Poe. She’s been walled up in here since...” Connix’s voice trails, “besides I know she loves the stars, maybe she’s just enjoying being among them, with her mate.”

“What did her test say?” Asks Rose pulling out the medical journal. 

Connix pulls at the strip, “Well shit,” she sputters, “I don’t know if she’ll ever be calm,” she passed the test to Rose. Poe leered over them snatching the test from her. 

“How is that even possible. Omegas, they’re a rarity as they are. My parents were scared and delighted out of their minds that they had three of their daughters present like that... for them it meant a better chance at better suitors. I’m so glad I’m a man...” he trails. 

Connix snorts and takes another swig of her ale. “Well, I’m glad she went out. Finn, didn’t you work with her on her sound system?”

“In what?”

“Her car.”

“Yeah, why?”

“Do you think you can fix the ones in the hangar?”

Finns eyebrows raise. “That’s a job-“

“Why?” 

“I know they’re old, but it might also be the way the hangar is built. The sound needs a place to be absorbed, and the structure she has, it’s not soft or warm in a woodsy way. Sound rooms are usually accepting....metal just, it ricochets it.”

“What if there’s a way to rib the ceiling?” Asks Rose. 

“It’s just too much. I’d have to tear down the shed and reclaim the wood - I think she’d be pissed.” Finn laughs. 

“Doesn’t she have old speakers from a car she recently dismantled?” Asks Poe. 

“I wouldn’t mess with that either...”

“Why don’t we rewire them and see if that helps?” Asks Rose. “It might just be that they were destroyed after years of decay. I can’t imagine the heat is good for that stuff. Let’s just try one and then see if it works.” 

Finn nods and the pair goes inside. Finn scans the hangar, looking over it meticulously, knowing Rey would get them to work and fasten them where ever she felt she’d be working that day. This was a part of her history he wished he knew. He doesn’t think too much more about it. “It looks like she’s got eight low and two mounted on the ceiling high above the catwalks.” His eyes wander around the room to something closer. “Lets start with this one here.”

“I’ll get the wiring and my tools.” She loves working with Finn. They’re always challenging each other through each project, presenting each idea in an overlapping effort like bridging cards. They electrify each other with each passing thought. Trying to pull Rey completely out of her shell, being there for each other, listening, everything is a promise. Finn puts the speaker down, leaning an endearing kiss into Rose’s lips. She tastes of chocolate kisses. He wonders how many she’s had, searching for any she’s welled into her cheeks as he always does when he realizes she hasn’t shared a treat. It makes Rose giggle, every time. She leans back into him, “there’s a whole bag outside if you want more.”

“No there isn’t-I’m pretty sure Hershey’s hasn’t manufactured Rose flavored chocolate.” Rose bubbles in giggles all over again pulling kisses from Finn when Connix pushes through the door. 

“Shit sorry- you didn’t see me.” She says grabbing two towels from the shelf over the washing machine, beating them out for bugs...just in case. 

They don’t seem to notice her at all. 

Connix leaves still contemplating the idea of fixing the sound for her friend. “The only thing I can think of is using shorter pieces to bounce the sound around.”

“What happened to Finn?”

“Rose is devouring him.”

He lets out a small laugh making his shoulders pop up and down, thinking he should follow suit since they had their own alone time. “Remember when we first met?” He shrugs off is shirt looking to go into the pool. 

His question startles Connix from her battling whether or not to move forwards with her plans on carrying the music for Rey. She smiles wide remembering it vividly. “Yes—“ 

Connix was nineteen, and both Rose and Rey were seventeen. By this point she’d already met Poe and had a strong distaste for him. It’s the gentlest word she could find. Rey shared the poisons of her hatred with all alphas, except for Finn, with Poe and he knew to stay away far enough from her. That is until he figured out that there was more going on in their little encampment. He had been spying over the course of two weeks - all of which Rey knew. She wouldn’t hesitate to bore him down either. She knew he was a true Alpha but also knew that like Finn he had to fold if he was going to be allowed by her family. Poe, however, did not understand this and would hold her gaze. This pissed her off more and more, especially when she would find him watching them harvest the vehicle from the sand.

Rey and Rose had been fixing up an old Army Jeep outside. They obtained it, on a walk and found it in the middle of a ditch, stripped of the hard top, netting and the back row seats. Those items seemed like the weirdest thing to take since the tires would have been the first snag of the engine didn’t turn over. Idly she wonders if it was in a bad accident. But there was no damage. She had Connix get in after searching for creatures that could have inhabited it. It had been about a quarter mile out from the hangar. Determined she had them straining to get the damn thing over the ridge so they could bring it back with them. 

When they just crested the ditch the engine stalled and there had had been an awful smell coming from it. “HOLD THE BREAK! SLAM IT INTO PARK!” Yelled Rey jumping out the side. “E-BREAK TOO!!” Rey had no intentions of battling it back up the side of that hole again. Her ‘this fucker is coming home with us’ stalk had set in, staring at the hood in question. The smell radiated and wafted over to her on blue smoke tendrils. Her nose turned up quick, barking an order to pop the hood. Rey was still short like Rose and the Jeep was on large all-terrain wheels, Connix remembered popping it, leaning over the dash to the right of the steering wheel and holding it up over the windshield. It was a sight to see. Rey climbed the front while Rose kept trying not to hurl. 

The heat of the day was making the smell so much worse wreaking like a carcass was cooking over a flaming oil slick. Rose gagged not quite making it out the window, yelling at Rey to to look before shoving her hand in there. That prompted her to knock on the sides of the hood to listen for hissing. ‘Snake’ she thought as she was searching. “If its a snake, then there will be more than one,” she said frankly to Connix who was watching intently. 

Poe crept up from the back of the Jeep.

“Speaking of snakes...” she growled.

The girls knew if it wasn’t the actual animal, it was an alpha that always thought the girls were vulnerable. They watched as he raised his hands outwardly from his chest asking if they wanted any help. He motioned back that he had a tow cable on his truck and asked again to help before looking up at Connix who was still angled precariously over the windshield. She looked down at him and purposely hiked her leg up at the sight of him gawking up at her. A small smile tugged at her lips as his eyes followed her movement. His lips parted, almost panting at the sight of her bearing her long slender leg that tucked her backside away into some torn up, sand blasted, Daisy Dukes. He legitimately forgot his name, what he said to Rey and why he was there all together as they could all see he was clearly ripping her clothes from her perfect body in his mind. Then, out of nowhere, Rey punches him square in the jaw. 

The shock of it has him spurt something he regretted immediately, “OW! What?! Are you a man?” Referring to the clear controlled connection with his face. 

“Wo-man” she squared her shoulders, pronouncing it in such a way to make it clear to him that men were inferior. 

He just looked at her. 

“Let him help, babe.” Connix had bent over more over eventuating her sculpted rear. “My arm is getting tired.” His eyebrow lifted at the sound of Connix saying ‘babe’ thinking this was some scandalous group of women he could be fucking. 

Shifting to her hand to her hip, sassily, Rey purred, “Alright, Babe... come on Alpha, why don’t you help us with this...” she slaps the side of the Jeep, startling his focus pants. “Don’t you think we need another Alpha hanging around us, Connix?” She said playfully bending over the engine, reaching within it to free whatever was there. 

Connix let out a moan at the idea that he’d be with her like a siren of the sea. “Yeah, babe...I want to keep him...” 

Rose threw a pebble at her making her sway to look at her instead of Rey and Poe, knowing full well she’d give him a show with those scraps she called shorts. 

Poe stood stunned. If he moved his he’d need a medic, he was sure of it. Rey threw the opened snake carcass at him, pissed off that she had to play the game. When Poe realizes what it was he quaked in such an unmanly way. It was disgusting-anyone would have. He looked at her in pure horror as she held the live snake still trying to coil around for dear life. She squeezed it harder and harder until it and Poe went limp. This was a warning. For some reason, being shot at after slamming into the hangar wasn’t enough, this would come as a close second. The snake lived, she wasn’t that much of an animal, but was sure that Poe needed to know that her girls were her responsibility. That no Alpha was going to come in, have their way and hurt them in the process. 

“Well, shit.” Is all he could say, but he didn’t run like the others. Rey didn’t have to say anything else. He figured out on his own it was a show afterwards. Uneasy but determined to show his worth, Poe refused to back down. Sure it would have been easier to find, ANYONE else, but he’d had his fill being chased for his own good looks. He never really had to put himself out there. Everything came naturally to him. Success, friends, women. Poe honestly never had to try. Just flash his smile and get his way. Not here. Not with them. He had to wonder if they all were playing him. Connix though... she was heart-stoppingly beautiful, worth putting himself in Rey’s warpath. Poe was sure he could turn her. He put his finger up, pulled his truck around, and offered the tow he originally did. 

Connix was finally allowed to drop the hood with a noisy slam, and savored the sight before her. She could tell he was muscular through his white shirt and dark washed jeans. He wore a thick raw tanned belt and work boots with a metal toe. He was charming ‘as fuck’ she’d say to herself. 

She’s brought back from the thought when he dives in to the water in nothing? ‘Oh...’ she hangs her legs over the side of the pool down to him with a gasps and a giggle when he’s peaking his head between her legs flopping his hair and water from his eyes. 

“How much do you remember?” He grins wickedly realizing her legs have wrapped around him. 

She starts to play with his hair. “Oh, I remember all of it...even the way you felt the first time.” She winks at him. 

“That good, eh?” He pulls himself close to the edge of the pool, fully pressing his body against it while pressing his triceps onto the cement patio. Letting his hands tense around Connix’s backside, she lets out an elongated moan hardening him immediately. He wastes no time pulling down her shorts and panties dragging them down into the pool. It was his effort to tease with her as he always did. This was something Rey would always have the discomfort on walking in on. There was always retaliation but to Connix she knew his little game. If he was going to take something from her, she wasn’t going to get it back. Instead she’d retaliate. It made for some amusing lovemaking. So in went her clothing, sinking down to the bottom of the pool. 

“Asshole,” she’s spout playfully. He’d lean up for a nip and a lap with his tongue spread wide, suckling on the inside of her thigh, one at a time. “Poe,” she’d moan dropping down to her elbows, dipping her head back off of her shoulders. He was such a tease throughout the years, he’d blow on her slit, biting at her lips, before sliding his tongue up her to split her right open. She arches her hips into his face with need. 

“Connix...You horny little thing...” He hums pulling his body up out of the pool dripping wet in his naked glory positioning himself over her. Her shear flowing shirt now sopping wet and plastered to her chest. His hands moving over her wet breasts in amusement. “You know, you were always the woman for me?” He rubs over her, refusing to enter. “‘Anywhere and anytime’ I think those were the words you used.”

They were. After they made it back with the Jeep and she watched him remove the tow cable, he offered to help her down from the raised cab. It took one touch of his hand to hers to light the fire that welded them together. He’d held her hand to the edge, urging her to jump, that he’d catch her. Lifting the other hand out, almost as if he was looking to catch someone jumping out of a burning building. She’d looked down to him and it was the first trust she’d put into any man. Entrapped by his gaze and dying to feel him pressed up against her, she went willingly into his arms. Jumping down to him he caught her waist, she’d broke eye contact noticing his muscular form tense to hold her. He’d paused like this to show his physique, surely she was interested when he realized the “O” she was making with her lips before whistling. 

It would come out later that he was a firefighter for the town, and had just moved there from LA where he’d been taking care of his late mother. The more Connix learned, the more she needed Poe. Beta to Alpha, is no biological dream come true for Alphas - this was taught to her over her life span. It ate at her, but Poe was different, and her feral behavior could pose her as more than just a Beta she was sure of it. The girls kept up their usual demeanor. 

Rey was always ready to make a scene if need be and the guys were always on edge, but now turning the page, Connix leaned into Poe’s selfish desires tonight. They weren’t home, they were in her home, but like the parent being out of the house they indulged in themselves. 

His rhythm is starting to eat at her and she grabs a fist full of him, she dragging his erection down into her, forcing him down with her strong legs wrapping around his backside. “Stop teasing and fuck me Poe.” 

“Like this?” He teases again, achingly slowly. 

“Deeper.”

“How deep?”

“Goddamnit Poe!” She slaps his bicep. He laughs into her pulling her hips up, angling her just so slamming into her in an unrelenting pace. Her body scrapes against the cement but it’s so worth it. He grunts into her matching her moans. “Harder! Yes!! Ahh!!” She hisses. Poe’s just about ready to bust begging her in a low growl to let go before he comes before her. 

“Con!!” He howls at her as she tensing around him in her blissfully hard orgasm. He slams one more time into her exploding deep inside of her. She screams dropping her head back. “It’s always better here,” He rasps. It’s the damned truth. Poe always loved Connix’s wild side. She’d take him anywhere. She had no reservations on that, and would coax him to it usually, this brazen -bold woman he was so lucky to tame. 

She giggles into him, “I’m not laying on the concrete, under you all night. Get me up...” trying to command her Alpha. 

“Con-you can’t get up.”

“Didn’t Rey say it was “lady wood?” Poe’s cock twitches inside of her ready again. He pulls her up off of the ground and onto the only lounge chair waiting to grow into full strength. He noticed the scrapes into her skin, upset about them. He licks all over her back, sucking on the pits that are deeper than the rest. “I’m sorry Con...”

“It’s ok. I liked it.” She honestly tells him. 

—-  
Meanwhile in the hangar, Finn has more respect for Rose and Rey. He breaks off their passion telling her that they should go. “It’s not right in here. This isn’t our home. Why don’t you get your things and we can lock Poe in here.” Finn says snickering. It’s not I’ll will. Just a funny thought to see him scramble. Poe was usually coolheaded about stuff like this but the retaliation was usually worse than simply locking Finn in something as revenge. Last time he messed with Poe, Poe took his keys and soldered them to the ceiling. This was a chance he was willing to take. 

Rose’s eyes widen thinking that it is hilarious. “We need to bring breakfast tomorrow anyways so I can respect your decision-“ she leans in for another kiss. 

Finn pops his head out the side door to say goodnight and gets a glimpse of them...”goodnight” he still squeaks out his face blistering with heat. Turning his heel and quickly moving back to Rose. Leave your stuff. “Don’t lock this door.”

“I have what I came with. What’s wrong?”

“They are stark naked out there...” he lifts his hands up and back behind his head. 

“They aren’t children, Rey usually has understanding for Connix, but she will have it out with Poe. Hopefully she comes back soon.”

“It’s 1:45am,” he yawns. Let’s just lock up and deal with it tomorrow. She opens at 8am right?”

Rose nods. 

Finn walks with her to the truck after locking up the lobby and the back door. The gate to the pool is chain link, tall like in the hangar but not created for privacy at all. Still giggling about the sight of them. “Rey really needs a privacy fence.” He says shaking his head.

——  
Ben is gentle and sweet. He’s kept her sated knowing her appetite for him. Their lovemaking is genuine and real. This constricts his mind and heart as they finish. He knows he needs her past this physical connection. He watches her as she rests against him enjoying snuggling into his perspired chest. 

Ben thinks back to that night, racing. He had enough of the corporate, congested world and just drove, as fast as he could, alone. He caught up to custom built cars in front of him following a green glow that zips around a curve. ‘I can do that,’ he urges the other driver on. Before he knew it he was passing through Death Valley on into Nevada. Several times he had to stop for gas and hope to catch up to this thrill seeker. His engine would scream through the night and it was honestly the rush he needed to feel alive. He’d been through and seen enough as a Marine. There were so many things he wished he could forget. Not the people, but the pain of losing them. He’d floored it through backroads finally catching up to the green light, which caught up to more. It was a huge gathering, had to be at least twenty cars, some appeared to be packed, others with one driver, even still there were motorcycles gathered ...and then there was Ben. The engines roared and all of the lights went out. He’d been the only one with his headlights still on until someone startled him, knocking on his window. They said nothing, just pointed at his lights and waved their hand horizontally at their neck until he turned it off. 

Once it was off the group began to move. He had waited and thankfully was at the end. Good idea or not he was going to do it. To feel alive. Well, the moonlight was strong enough that the dark run wasn’t a total failure, however as they turned through the elevated road, he had lost control barely missing other drivers, slamming into a boulder. His adrenaline spiking he’s realized he pushed the envelope just too far.

Ben remembers getting out of the car and assessing the damages. He could turn it on but the drivers side wheel well had crushed into the tire and he deemed it unsafe to try. Sitting back into the seat he remembered he had Triple A bit of course never put the information into his wallet. ‘Perfect’. Just by chance he remembered he’d seen a mechanics sign before the road dipped and decided to take a walk, due to no service, to find this shop and see if they could help him. 

He yawns breaking himself from his thoughts, looking down into Rey’s hold of him. ‘How can this be my life? All be chance... unbelievable...’ he nods off.

Rey wakes with a start, aware that she’s still with Ben at his house, in his warm bed with him. No nightmares, just happily enjoying him when she realizes the time. It’s now 6:30am and she’s mildly concerned about getting back before she has to open. Rey decides to try to wake him realizing the full weight of his restful arms over her. ‘Protection.’ She thinks, ‘I’d love to learn how to get used to this’ pushing soft kisses into his chest she wonders what all of his scars are from. “Ben? She asks softly. Pawing closer, down to his ear, “Ben?” It almost sounds like a moan, and he stirs towards her, blinking his eyes up at her. 

Ben inhales her name sleepily, “Rey...Good morning,” tightening his grip on her. He enjoys her gasp.

She splays her hand over his stomach, “if it’s alright, I’d like to take a shower now. And after I really do need to be getting back.”

Knowing he really needs to eat, he nods at her. He grumbles getting up. Not to his surprise she tries tugging at him towards the bathroom. “I’ve told you once, and I’ll tell you always.. I’ll never tire of you, Kylo.”


	8. Position Filled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone gets the job.

Refreshed, dressed...well Rey’s had to borrow a t-shirt from him....’totally worth it’ she’d tell herself, and in the kitchen for coffee, Ben offers Rey a cup then asks what his role is for Phaux’s. He loves her widening grin. 

“Well, Ben. I thought you already had a job. I can’t pay you the same as whatever you have now to afford your multiple castles.” She teases taking a sip. 

His face turns. 

“What in the garage would you feel comfortable with doing? You said you were doing freelancing right? Are you an artist?”

“Well, I can do normal things, nothing extravagant like working on the engine like you, but oil changes, fixing breaks, changing tires, that sort of thing.”

“So maintenance? Sounds good. That’ll help a lot actually.” She smiles, “Listen, I’d be happy to have you if this is a job you actually want, but it’s a serious job. I probably have a line from drop offs from last night...” she takes another sip, checking up at the time. “We need to get going. Shop opens at 8am.”

“8am?”

“Ben, I was alone for a long time, 9am sounded too late for me rising at 3am.” She finishes her cup, brings it to the sink, cleans it and sets it to dry. “Done?”

Ben nods giving her his cup. 

“You know, if you were more of a morning person, I’d let you drive my car.” She smirks.

He blinks at her trying to prove he’s awake. Even trying to scrub at his face, “I’m up!”

“Of course you are,” Rey winks at him over her shoulder. It gains her a good old fashioned tickle fight crashing her right into the floor. Her overworked body has her literally ticklish everywhere. “I-I can’t breathe...” she laughs, “get off!”

Wickedly, “I can do that too.” He hums in her ear.

“Kylo.” She kisses him, trying to use her words in a way he can’t turn them back on her. “It’s time. If we don’t go now, you’re not driving.” He eases off noticing the time, leaning one more kiss into her, before setting her upright. Then pulls the keys from her bra. 

“Do you put anything in there?”

“Just about!” She giggles. “Oh! Did you have any music you wanted to bring with? I’d love to know more about you than well this lovely activity here.” She grins. 

Ben grabs a charging station and his phone - wiggling them to let her know he’s got them. “Trade you,” refering to the keys. “Lets go then.” 

They stride out to her car the sunrise is peaking just above the horizon. “Shit. Get a feel of her- but when your comfortable drive the fuck out of her or we won’t be back in time.”

“You’ve got quite the mouth this morning.” Playfully poking her. 

“Lets go Ben. I’m serious.”

They make their way back to 95 where the leans into it, shifting smoothly like her, pressing her back within her seat. He notices as its really effecting her that he can drive and well. “Fuck! Ben! This changes some things.” She breathes. The adrenaline that’s surging though her watching him work the gears properly has her melting in her seat. “Well now you have options. If your coming to Phaux’s then I need you to showcase one of the cars in the races. I can’t do all of them. The girls and I are handling showing the sport bikes. I’m showing this car, Poe has the option to the Cobra, then there’s the cars that need to be shown. Up to you which you want to show.” 

“I’ll take the ‘Stang.” Enjoying being included, and I’ll take the Cobra too.” He revels in the way she looks at him. The more she hears from him, the more she’s dying to know. 

“Depending on what we get done today, I’ll teach you about your engine.” It sounded way more sexier than she thought in her mind. In her mind she meant they’d be taking it apart together. But it sounded too sexual in its own right out loud, rolling her eyes at herself. He relaxes his speed to stay within the right gear slipping his hand over to grab hers. “It’s going to be a busy day.” She says as he pulls into the parking lot. 

Rey tells Ben to wait, keeping the engine running. She unlocks the door hitting the button on the other side of the door as it pulls the hangar open. Rey hips sway as she saunters to the back now being home and in her comfort zone. She marches up to her room for her tank top, slipping Ben’s shirt off folding it on their messy bed. She gets dressed in her work clothes then practically running right down the stairs. Both belts slung on, she punches eight codes on, starting the fans, turning lights on all over the hangar, turning on the music, plugging Ben’s in from where it started on its own. Something that sounds like ‘The Offspring’ she presses her lips into a firm line. “Yep! Good!” 

Ben parks in the space they left the evening before, and had the respect to cover it properly. She smiled at him thankfully. Rey turns opening the fence and the lobby door. She waves to Finn and Rose who are coming in with breakfast goods. It’s almost 8am. She greets them ‘good morning’. Rose hugged her so tightly she’d thought Rose was attempting to put her down. 

“How was being out?!” Rose squealed her question. 

“It was everything I needed.” Not realizing Ben was within earshot. “Was it weird here without me?”

“It was different.”

“Where’s Poe? He should be here by now. He’s usually here before you.” 

“Well...” Finn said, “they were with each other and we didn’t want to disturb them.”

“Mother fucker. Where are they?”

“By the pool.”

“Finn. Come with me.” She strides to the washer grabbing two towels. “While I have the nerve - you’re going to have the balls to say something to Poe.” Throwing the towel at him. “I know how he is after they ‘frolic’ and I’m not interested in bringing someone down today, and it’s not Ben’s job!” She throws her frustration to the sky. “Connix! Poe! What the fuck? And I mean it literally.” Rey wraps a towel over Connix from behind, “listen babe, I’m not judging you- I know you’re in love with him, but love him at home. Please? There are customers on the way in and there isn’t a privacy fence, you’re just kind of over exposed here.”

Connix blinks up at her, just about ready to spill her tears. She hadn’t done anything like that since they first met and it enraged Rey so much when she found out then. Rey was still mad but for different reasons this time. “I’m sorry Rey, we shouldn’t have let it get so far.” 

Rey puts up her hand, “I need you to check yourself for bites. How long were you outside?” Rey snaps at Finn, points to the bag of clothes that they got for him last night. “Figure it out - if he’s drunk Finn, take him home.”

Rey wonders if the mated side of her is making her take extra care of them without them need to beat this piss out of Poe. They both should know better, but she knows if she thinks on this for too long the calm will turn into an undeniable wrath. ‘Breathe..’ she told herself. She helps Connix into her room, “don’t mind the...”

“Obvious sex smell?” Laughs Connix. 

Rey tries to hide the smile tugging on her lips, “Yes,” she sighs, “Connix.”

“I’m sorry Rey. We shouldn’t have- and shouldn’t have stayed out,” she rubs her head. “I’m not drunk, I barely finished the first one. And he sure as hell wasn’t either. I just didn’t realize how tired I was and forgot we were outside.” 

Rey hands her, her navy blue bikini polka dotted with tiny white daisies, a pair of jean shorts, because spanks are hers, a loose cotton t-shirt, and socks. “It doesn’t look like you have any bite marks.” Both girls giggle, but you could have, Finn hasn’t resprayed yet, and God, Connix! Some of those things are poisonous!” She pulls her in for a hug then offers a brush. Once Connix is ‘polished’ and ready to go back downstairs they hear Finn struggling to compose himself. 

You would think being a guy and knowing all guy’s anatomy, that she didn’t actually just ask for the lost city of Atlantas to be unearthed from the sea, at the rate that. “This is going to be s long day. Connix, please go handle this. Finn! Ben! Rose!” Spoken like a true boss, “while Connix cleans up, we’re behind now. There’s a line up of ‘drop offs,’” she grabs gum, one for her and one for Rose, a clipboard and a pen. “Let’s take a look at what we’ve got and get it done ASAP.” 

Ben looks at Finn, “spoken like a drill sergeant.” 

The tension eases from Finns face, “this is the tamest I’ve ever seen her so whatever you two have, it’s working.”

“Looks like three oil changes, a patch, and, no notes.. perfect. I assume this needs a change too, but I’ll have to call the owners.” She spouts to anyone within earshot. 

They get started and are surprisingly done in an hour since they’re all working together. Poe emerges with his head hung, dressed, and most likely, as per Connix going home. A part of her thinks it’s for the best today- but it was supposed to be fun all day, because they’d be all together. 

“Poe!” Rey cracked her gum and everyone popped up like prairie dogs. She doesn’t have to say anything. 

“Rey, I’m sorry. We... I...”

“I really don’t want to know. You’re my brother, I don’t - I really don’t,” she makes a face and puts her hands up. So long as you can respect that shit doesn’t happen here, especially because you’re not really protected at night from onlookers...Poe, I know you know I get drop-offs at night. What if something happened to Connix? Or you? Seriously. I need you to think.” She’s holding it together but lowly only for him - well them to hear. They nod. “It’s up to you if you want to go but I’d rather you stay.”

They perk up, confused at her calm. 

“It’s going to be a long day, and there’s a lot to do. If you can let this go, so can I.” 

Connix leans into her cheek with a kiss, and Poe visibly relaxes. 

Rose finishes the last car and brings it to the lot, leaving the one without the note. “We brought breakfast stuff if you wanted to start the grill,” talking to Ben and Finn as she strode by to hang the keys in the front. Just as she had made it to the lobby, the first patrons had come in for their vehicles. And then Armitage. Rey had been handling the lift, punching out code when the pulley system holding the engine to the Mustang, froze in place. He seemed to gawk at her as she climbed the chain to yank the chain free. “Excuse me.” She hammered out. He went to lunge towards the gated door when Ben realized who it was. 

“I’m looking for my car. Was it finished?”

“Was it left here without a note? 

He blinks at her as if to say, “I have to tell you what’s wrong?”

“You have to tell us what you need or it doesn’t get done.”

Ben emerges through the gated door. 

“I needed an oil change and all four tires replaced.” Trying to sound like his presence didn’t bother him. 

“You know you’re not supposed to be here- on this property.” He says cooly.

Pointing his chin up at Ben, “I’m aware. Triple-A towed me here last night. I slept in the car until morning, left to pee and wait for someone to open shop.” He says frankly. “Rey’s has the reputation to service anything that comes in here,”. He says, purposely choosing those words to stir Ben up. 

“She also has the right to deny you.” Ben’s voice is threateningly low. 

Puffed chest to puffed chest, the men stand just about ready for a fight when he hears Rey behind him saying, “I really don’t have the patience for this,” as she walks behind him drawing her hand over his lower back to get past. She doesn’t look at either of them, instead she’s looking for the pulley system’s manual from under the desk. 

Armitage looks away from Ben and stares dispassionately at the mark she now bares since last time he was there. ‘No matter,’ he thought darkly. ‘I can still get her. Mark or no mark.’ 

“Rey.” 

“Not- not right now,” she pulls a thick manual from the bottom of the desk. “I can’t lose my train of thought,” thumbing through to find the right page. Armitage licks his lips every time she licks her middle finger to pick through the pages. 

Ben leans down to her, scenting her in front of them, when she turns into him, “Ben,” she purrs, then looks up, “mother fucker, why are you here?”

Armitage is startled out of his daydream.

“This is really not how I thought this day was going to go.” Dog earring the page she was on, “what? Why can’t you just follow a simple command?” Rey looks at red. “Why are you here?”

“My car. I expected it would be done already.”

“And which is that?”

“The white Corvette outside the hangar. I see you’ve done nothing to it. Disappointing.”

“All of my customers know that if you drop something off you are required to either call or leave a note in the dash telling me what you need.”

“Should I really leave ‘oil change, replacement tires and omega to fuck,” despite Ben’s presence, “as...” Ben punches him hard in the face. The omega side of her is enjoying seeing Ben stand up for her. ‘Mmm...There’s that gleam of protection again.’ Ben lets up sensing her change in scent.

“You’d be surprised how unoriginal that note would have been.” 

Finn pops his head in and tells them breakfast is ready, not actually looking in any direction. Rey thanks him and assured that they’re coming. 

“Hungry Arty?” Rey asks. ‘I’m not saying Armitage every time I have to speak to this man-child today.’

“Rey...” Ben bends down to her ear about to say something about her invitation to this psychopath. 

Rey has no reservations in her speech. “While it’s a private invitation, it’s public knowledge as to who is going to Phaux’s. If he’s a spy to a group, I really don’t want him on his own taking a look. Everything we have is covered,” stroking a code into the remote, “and locked. He knows he can’t go toe to toe with me,” she runs her fingers through his hair, “and now he knows,” she licks Ben’s bottom lip, “that I’m mated with you,” Ben plasters a solid, devouring kiss to her lips.

Rose blushes big time. “Okay guys, lets go eat,” still reeling with Rey’s audacity. 

They all head out the lobby door, turning towards the pool to eat, Rey turns to lock that too. As Armitage rounds the corner, Poe jumps up from the table ready to kill him. 

“Alright, tiger,” Rey clamps her hands down on Poe’s shoulders guiding him to sit down. “What? Are you serious? Rey!” 

“Arty was here last night. Sleeping in his car out front.” She eyes Poe, “think about what you say next.” Rey explains her thoughts on this and why he’s at the table now. “He will stay here until his car is done. Since Poe had trouble with him, Ben do you think you can stay with them?” Ben is appreciating being considered the muscle of this situation. “Poe is going to accompany me so I know this shit is under control.” He nods.

Everyone is silent for a beat when Connix speaks up to Finn. “Thanks for cooking Finn, this is really good.” He made everyone stuffed omelets, even made an extra one after he watched Rey cut hers in half to feed Armitage. 

Finn beams, “thanks!” Everyone including Arty thanks him, which sort of takes Rey by surprise. 

Rose had brought over a cut fruit and yogurt platter they found at the grocery store. She remembered saying it had ‘something for everyone and she didn’t have to cut a finger off to do it.’ 

“Going to be a hot one today.” Arty says, nodding at the pool behind them. “Do you do anything to cool it?”

“If it’s really hot, I usually have rose pick up some ice to cool it.” Says Rey.

He nods. “Different, my mom would have us throw the hose in and bleeds the hot water from the top when we were kids.”

Finn just looks at him mid-chew. “Did it really work?” 

Arty shrugs. “I can’t swim so I don’t know. It made her happy though.” 

“Peanut?” Asks Finn, nodding in the direction of the music, “is this your music too?” 

“No. Ben’s phone. I think we have some of the same though.” Rey says popping a grape in her mouth. 

Armitage gathers his nerves before asking about her headset and why she had music playing now as it was.

“Well that’s a personal question, Arty. I don’t mind answering if you don’t mind giving me an honest answer to why you’re really here.” 

He nods, your Help Wanted sign was still in the window. Even after being an asshole, I couldn’t get you out of my head.”

Ben coughs and the whole table is mortified. The two powerhouses were at the table and his honesty is overwhelming Ben who is sitting at the head of the table, two spaces over was Armitage. 

She puts her hand up, “That’s enough.” 

He blinks at her. 

“I like my music loud, especially right before my heats. Figured out fast it alerted all the alphas in the area, so headphones were the next best option.”

“So you were in heat?” He coughs. 

“I had a relapse after I kicked your ass.” 

“That means you’re a...”

“Don’t fucking say it-“ Rey excused herself thanking Rose and Finn for breakfast. Unlocking the side door she pushed right through it, letting the music swell through her. Briskly she walked through the hanger, stroking out commands for the door to open, sliding it to the side. Making it to his car she grabs a survey sheet. The initial condition is such as needing tires since his were bald, and the oil change that was requested. Double check with a systems check after. Anything that needs all four tires replaced needs checking. Pulling the car over an oil pit, she jumps down in the pit next to it to get under the corvette. Making quick work she’s already up pouring new oil into it throwing out the empty bottles. She notices Ben open the door and watch her get ready to change the tires, and blows him a kiss. Ben looks on while also watching on to ‘Arty’. He crosses his arms trying not to be bothered by this and notices she doesn’t put his lug nuts in he bra, like she did with his. ‘Oh...’

The tires were removed and replaced, when Rey walked back over to him in the door way. “Somethings, are only for you.” 

“You’re only for me.” He grumbled, grabbing her butt as she passed through. It was a tighter squeeze than he realized because she grabbed his wrist with her right hand and pawed his stomach with her left, making a high pitched moan before agreeing with him. 

“Yes I’m only for you. I have to say... it’s not been an easy change for me, but I really am enjoying protection thing you’ve been emitting. Maybe some day I’ll let you do it all the time,” she teases reveling in his smell a beat. “Arty, why don’t you go around back and I’ll get you ready for a systems check?”

“You’re not going with him.”

“You’re right, I’m not. You are.” She grins at him. “Actually listen for a problem and tell me what you think it is. You’ll do two runs up and down the strip. If you think I have to take it tell me, but this is your assessment.” She gives him a kiss. “If you really want the job, it’s yours.”

He protested at her that that the customer always goes with the owner. 

It was her thing. Yes, that was her thing, but that was before being the target of his many attempts on her. 

“Of course I’m not Riding with you Arty.” She clearly rolls her eyes in exasperation.

“Stop calling me that.” He hissed.

“No, my garage, my rules. Besides, you haven’t got my respect yet.” ‘Or ever’ she’s almost positive. “Ben will take you. I don’t want my scent in there for obvious reasons.” 

Rey looks on, hungrily watching her mate lower into the car, catching herself realizing she’d done that to him. ‘Cool it you little pervert...’ relaxing the vixen inside of her, cracking her gum as Ben starts the engine. Rey smiles at him leaning back on the wall as he took off down the strip. 

Armitage was mortified when Ben sat with him in the car. Droplets of sweat were worrying down his face as he tries to mentally ward it off as though sweating runs in the family.

Of course Ben made sure to stare her down, almost as a thank you for this moment with the garbage before him before peeling off. Rey was trusting him on multiple levels. She wanted his protection, even though she thought she could handle it herself. Thinking back on that day, she was actually scared. Dwelling on the thought it posed. What if Armitage actually marked her? What if Ben hadn’t been there? What would be happening to her now? There had been a new effect that had been working its way through her since he marked her, too many new amplified feelings to count and it became harder for her to ignore. She started wondering what was happening. There weren’t manuals on this in the shed. Since she stopped going to school well before they started even bringing this up she certainly had nothing-absolutely nothing to help her figure this out with. Well, the most she had was Connix and Rose’s knowledge, but that didn’t seem like enough. All of the manuals she had for all she knew how to do we’re written in detail. Detail she needed- there had to be an explanation of this somewhere. Maybe not there, but she was sure she couldn’t be the only one that had ever experienced such a thing. 

A rip in the engine growling down the strip startles her back into the present, having her note this and come back to it. The pressure of Phaux’s now looming in her mind because of ‘Arty’ that she knows he has to be working for someone. She’s pissed she can’t have anyone doing anything in there because of his unnecessary need to be there. There were other garages in the area, hers was picked because of their history she was sure of it. However bad she wanted to fight him, she knew he’d be of importance, a tool of sorts, to get to the bottom of this. She needed him thinking the mess from before was water under the bridge, but that he still had to work for her trust. Having Ben take the lead on this was the least of Armitage’s problems, she thought. If she had to do it she’d be holding a gun to his head the entire time. Who could blame her for it though? 

Poe comes up beside her snapping her from her thoughts. “Hey.” 

Still looking on at the strip. “Hey.”

“Listen, I” he pauses not sure if she’s going to stop him, “I wanted to thank you for not throwing us out.”

That last bit, ‘throwing us out,’ makes her spit her gum in frustration. “Poe,” this is both a command and a request. “Please don’t over think my decision. I hate hearing the relevance your indirectly making. I hate it. Everyone is getting older. We’re not kids now. The girls have their mates and maybe now that I am I can understand their decisions more clearly. I mean I know they’re betas and so know I’m going through something different- but their connections with you and Finn, it’s I guess what a normal life is? I don’t know. I’m still figuring it out. There’s this whole change going on inside of me and honestly I’m trying to keep my shit together about it.” 

“Right, I just, there’s just- so much changing.” His speech comes out broken, like he’s missing the points he wants to make but throwing just any thought out to feel like he’s speaking. “It’s not just an Omegas shift, Alphas have to figure it out too. Did you tell Ben? Our roles have to accommodate our mate’s make up. I mean, it’s not really the same with Connix since she’s not omega, but for her it’s the human emotional right being coupled. For my sisters, it’s something different. Like they go through this really emotional cycle crying all the time, one of them was painting her nails and the shade wasn’t the right color and she lost it remembering something her alpha said to her about the color he didn’t like for whatever reason.” He laughs, “funny now, then not so being on the receiving end of it.” He tries to continue being understanding to what she’d just revealed on change. Then jumps backwards by a day about the houses... “And then there’s your offer and it’s just a lot.” Rey rolls her eyes at the last bit about the nudity she wasn’t ready to see. “I shouldn’t have...you know... and I’m just waiting for an explosion, honestly.”

“Don’t Poe. I really don’t enjoy losing it.” She sighs watching Ben race down the strip giving the drift a try, he does ok, and then the car jerks roughly. She tries to hide her reaction, turning back to Poe. ‘Going to have to work on that,’ she notes inwardly as he makes the pass one more time. “I used to lose my shit with you because you were unrelenting. You’d keep your ground like a usual Alpha, which I understand now with ‘Arty’ here,” she rolls her eyes. “Can you imagine doing that with another Alpha?” 

Poe thinks about it.

“You don’t have to have an answer on that, it’s fine...rhetorical, I guess you’d call it.” Rey crosses her arms over her chest. “I get the feeling that you’ve been at the receiving end of my wrath and still don’t know why it was happening.” She looks at him frustrated that she has to spell it out. “Think of it like another Alpha is courting Connix. Your mate. Would you fight to keep her safe? Or would you willingly let her go at the first sight of another man?” She puts her finger up to silence the answer. “I’m not a man, obviously, but it was just us, for years, YEARS Poe. I shouldn’t have to explain that. And then seeing you two pancaking out in the open like this was some weird nude hippy encampment- I should have lost it. I should have. I wanted to. But the rage in me has subsided to a degree.” Trying to reference the chemical omega shift that he was speaking of before.

Poe just listens, which makes Rey more comfortable with him. Had he been growing up or had her shift been teaching her how to connect with people better? Honesty was still flowing but there was something that was changing the dynamic. 

“I guess being mated has its perks.” She lets a soft laugh bubble through her. 

“Well you’re doing fine in terms of the transition.” Poe starts. “Before Ben, I’m pretty sure you’d have been digging my grave out back already - and would have been done before noon.”

Rey snorts in amusement. “Too right, I’d of...” She clears her throat, “Yeah that’s what I mean though. Sure, you deserved the ass kickings but I should have been able to control myself too.” She shakes her head, then back to look Poe in the eye. “To fresh starts,” she offers her right hand to shake Poe’s.

He grabs it firmly, “Alright sister.”

Ben pulls up with Armitage watching this truce. He watches on as Rey holds the clip board to her chest and she shakes Poe’s hand. ‘Arty’ attempts to stir the pot when Ben flat out says, “Poe’s her brother, you idiot” before getting out of the car. 

Rey bites her lip waiting his results and Poe makes some comment about them playfully. Rey sidesteps and elbows him in the side, slowly pressing her lips together and full on giving him a sideways glare. Then looking back to Ben, “What’s the assessment?” 

“There’s some pulling to the right when it’s driven straight, and shakes when Its over sixty.” 

“Ok alignment and breaks. We’ll check the whole axil to make sure and the calipers too. Poe, in this case why don’t you escort Arty back to the back and take down the “Wanted Sign.” Armitage over hears her. 

“Wait how much is this going to cost?” He demands to know raking his hand through his short, pumpkin colored hair. 

“Right now, you’re at $865 for four new tires, an oil change and that’s without tax, and breakfast.” She watches him protest openly laughing about it. “Don’t worry Arty-you don’t have to pay for breakfast.” 

Ben and Poe are wide eyed as they realize she’s having way too much fun with this. This idiot caused so much grief that day, why is she allowing this and teasing this guy. Poe realizes before Ben, waving his fingers at him to pay attention. “He’s the new me. I’m almost positive... She’s hunting.” 

“What?” Ben asks quietly folding his arms over his chest. 

“Remember what Finn and I told you? How she hated the hell out of me? Right now she has to be civil because he’s a customer— but don’t let it fool you. She’s going to ‘kill’ him.” Poe elaborates, “think about it. What did she do when she realized he was here? And what has she been doing throughout the day?”

“She’s been really straight forward.”

“She’s a woman of her word. Being mated with you I’m sure she won’t be so flashy, but she’s getting ready...”

“Ready for what?” Rey leaned back into the conversation. 

“Ready to finish this, unless ‘Arty’ would rather let his pile shake.” Snickers Poe. 

“Yeah, yeah, this has already eaten up too much time.” Rey agrees with Poe, “make sure the girls get the airbrush out and cleaned when you go back there, yeah?”

Poe salutes her and she smacks him in the arm playfully. 

“Ben,” she looks up at him, “can you pull it in by the second lift?” He nods at her leaning a demanding kiss into her as if to command her into telling him what is going on. He’s begun to hate that her family knows more than him. He’s figured that in pushing his emotional baggage to the side upon meeting her, it’s given him more time to obsess over not knowing as much as them. How did Poe know she was hunting? What did hunting even mean? Who hunts another person? Did the rest of them know? Was that why breakfast’s conversation was so stagnant? They’re usually so playful. Armitage was there and that brought everything to a stand still but even through her reasoning -open reasoning- it still didn’t make sense as to what she was really doing. She could have just called another tow to take him and his junk there instead. What did she know about him that she wasn’t sharing? 

Rey brushes his stomach with her fingertips, moving off of him for the hand he has hanging off of her. She squeezes it, pulling from his lips, “Come on. Let’s finish this.”

Being that Poe said what he did, he’s wondering if the hunt is winding down to Armitage’s devastation. Part of him is annoyed that she’s still ‘hunting’ and not taking on the usual transition of a mated omega, but he has to remind himself that she isn’t one. 

He breaks away from her, a slight fury tensing through his muscles that he’s sure she notices as walks back to the car. He hears a whimper escape her and vaguely sees her touch her lips after. She didn’t do that before. She tries to hide her vulnerability rolling her eyes and checking the board before she sees more customers roll in with other issues. Sighing inwardly she marches out to greet them. 

The customers that came in were looking for normal maintenance. Ben stepped out of the car as he’d seen the group approaching her. “I’m taking you all in first come first serve order,” she says calling out the color, model name and license plate number. Making her way through seven as five more pulled up. “Listen up, to everyone that came in, I am about an hour behind. Counting the cars that came in, giving me about a half hour for smaller needs and the two in the back who need tires, and the last that needs a windshield fix it’s about forty five minutes,” not having to explain that to the regulars, you’re welcome to sit in the lobby, but it will be hot today, if you don’t need it right now, I’d suggest coming back in the evening. I can give you a call when we slow down if you’d rather that too.” 

Ben comes up beside her while she takes notes on who would be back in the evening or wanted to be called given the heat. “A lot of this is because of Phaux’s” she said to Ben. “There are people that are trying to get a look, and people that like to be at the cutting edge of a tabloid telling what people have in their garage. I love this time of year, but people can be nasty.” She leans on him. 

“I’m sure we can kick this out. Get Connix and Rose back out here and I’ll do what I can for these people. You focus on getting Armitage out of here, and we’ll be good before the high heat at 2pm.” He says it almost authoritatively which should have irritated her but it didn’t, and he noticed. 

Rey sighs into him, “Thank goodness for you.” She hands him the clip board, “I’ll get the girls.” He watches her move back to the back picking up her headphones. He wonders if it’s to block out the world or if she needs it to refocus herself. Ben looks on to the list and gets started as she yanks the door open to the pool. 

She’s just put her music around her neck so she can call for the girls when she sees Armitage offering to help clean the airbrush hoses. ‘What the hell is going on today?’ “Con, Rose?” They both pop up, “I need you in the back.” The girls drop what they’re doing and Armitage looks on. “Finn?” Finn looks up too. “Why don’t you and I take a walk?” Finn gets up from the table, following her to the shed. He notices how Armitage is looking at Rey and stares him down. “Help me get the tents out?” It’s almost a purr, Finn knows. “We need to get ready for painting later,” she says as she puts on her leather fingerless gloves. 

Finn nods and walks with her out of range of Armitage. As soon as they’re in the shed looking for the rods, he asks, “you’re hunting aren’t you?” 

“Is it that obvious?”

“Yeah, does Ben know you’re doing it?” 

“Why does he need to know I’m protecting my family? Don’t Alpha’s do this? Isn’t it your thing?”

“Yes it is, it’s just, you’re mated. Like truly mated, marked. It’s a different dynamic, you can’t just do what you’ve been doing. You need to tell him Rey or he’s going to lose it. As Alphas, we have to be able to control the situation, if you take that from us, it does weird shit to us. We’ve dealt with it with you - as you were - because you were on your own, even in this family unit of pairs... you have to understand that I’m not saying this to make you uncomfortable... but you have to let him in.”

Rey bats away a scorpion from the covered tent she’s looking to use for painting the bikes and the larger one for the cars. Reaching for hers and shaking it for more critters, “Alright Finn. I just don’t know what to say. It’s not like there’s a dialect that comes up- it’s just a primal thing that takes over. How’s that conversation supposed to go? ‘Oh by the way, I’m letting my enemy in to see what type of threat I’m working with today. Don’t mind me.’” She says throwing the weight over her shoulder after Finn. They stride out of the door with their tents. Mirage lines from the heat setting in fill the distance between Armitage and his view of Rey. Poe doesn’t stop this. She’s hypnotizing him on purpose. 

Rey looks at Finn and is clearly still talking about something when Rey shrieks dropping the tent. She felt it. Hairy legs on her bare back. She rolls her shoulders violently trying to remove herself from the frightening feeling. The tarantula drops scurrying away but not before Rey pulls her pistol and destroys that fucker. She’s still handling light convulsions when Armitage walks up to them taking her tent and putting it where Finn instructs. Poe gets up to call for Ben to control Rey’s situation, and as they switch Ben notices Rey on the ground shaking. Finn checks her telling her there weren’t any marks, trying to get her anxiety under control. Her eyes are panicked and not really focused on anything. 

Faintly Rey hears Finn tell Ben what happened as Ben softly takes her hand. He soothes her where they are until her shaking spasm stops. Armitage comes back and helps Finn with the other tent when he sees Ben soothing her. He grumbles inside wondering what’s taking so long. He had no intention of being here all day. He had no expectations to see Ben here after that day, and with the intel he’d been retrieving, he didn’t actually expect to be jealous over her. A mental image passes of the way she stripped for him, ‘how stupid’ he kicks himself. “Where do you want this?” 

Finn points, “next to Rey’s-thanks.” 

“Finn?” Rey asks, “Do you think you can set those up for me?”

Finn nods.

“Have Poe and Armitage work on them with you, they’re heavy.” 

She looks over to Armitage, “If you’re going to stay - you’ll work. If you’d rather not, we can call you a cab.”

Armitage doesn’t fight it. He nods, and tells her he’ll work if there aren’t additional charges past the tax which included the additional work they had to supply him with for the safety of driving it and her reputation. 

“Fine.” She nods to him. Then to Ben, “Alpha, can you shake his hand so that he knows ‘we’ shook on it?” 

He huffs a slight laugh, kissing her temple, before rising with her clutched against his chest. Her breathing has completely slowed, waiting through the hand shake. She notices that his clutch is tightly pressing her into him. This thought would usually piss her off, but now? Now... she’s comfortable here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo I didn’t like where this chapter cut off so I added more to it. Still on the fence on whether or not I want to finish the whole day as I have been with the other chapters.


	9. Rey’s Rage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the second half of the day. Arty’s secret is out, Rey is hunting, and the men can’t stand it. This urges Rey’s Alpha side out, what will she do? And what are the consequences? Will she be able to handle what she’s put in motion?

The group breaks off to pop the tents. Armitage keeps being referred to by Poe as “Guy” to be sure that he’s being as annoying as he can be about it. While they respect Rey, these choices are ticking them off. The tents are reinforced with steel frames, and weighted at the corners so as not to have any issues with wind gusts while painting. Rey bought them from a seasonal goods store that happened to go out of business a few years ago. They were sized properly for what she wanted them to do but they clearly were aged and sun-worn. No matter. Rey would figure she could just fix it if necessary. 

Armitage seems to just be baffled that Rey could turn out the pieces she did last year with this modge-poge of a garage. Being as short handed as she looked, knowing damn well Ben wasn’t part of the picture last year. Had it just been by chance that they met? Who was Ben? His mind races back to all the years she’d been showing up at his father’s show, never with a man, and no man was given rite of passage to ever be within her personal space. She’s no sooner shoot anyone that crossed her path who’d have the audacity to call her by her smell than to welcome them kindly. He’s pulled out of his thoughts holding the corner support up for Poe who has that look in his eye from when he challenged him that day. His smugness tried scaring him into revealing something that wasn’t going to slip. Not here. Not for you. His boss would find a liking towards giving him a bonus for what he’s found. Maybe more than that. This big brotherly thing that these alphas are providing them here has no way to protect her - he’ll be sure to have his way with Rey soon enough. 

Ben moves inside with Rey, the girls are done with the fourth oil change and are looking over the list that has to be completed. They both look up to the sound of the door being pushed open and then slamming closed from the weight of it, and the wind blowing through. Rose grabs the other key and motions to bring them up to the front. 

“Is everything ok Rey?” Rose asks on her way up. 

“Yeah, I just-“ She convulses slightly, “had a tarantula on my back and went into a full panic.” She blinks. Rose says nothing at first and embraces her friend even though Ben is right there extending himself, tending to Rey. Moments pass and she finishes, as if she needed to be told what happened, “and then your mate soothed you...” 

“What?” Rey pulls back from her hug. 

“I have a book you should read all about your make up and what Ben is going through too. I found it when we went shopping the other night.” Rose looks into Rey’s eyes and sees her not completely comprehending that there are answers out there. “It’s a medical journal- your style reading- there might not be words in there that you know but Paige has a computer, we can call her and ask about it.”

“Or you can use my phone.” Offers Ben.

Rey looks at them like she has no idea about the technology that they had available to them. She never purchased one a phone or computer. The computers in the cars today were the only electronic pieces that she’d ever worked with aside from the iPod she broke down years ago, and just before...sticking a jack into Ben’s phone. It never dawned on her that she could have known this sooner. “You mean I could have found this information on whatever this is going on in my body if I had a computer?”

“Well you’d need more than that technically speaking,” Ben said flatly. “I can use my phone as a hot spot so long as it’s plugged in you can use it for whatever you need.” She just looks at him ready to ask him to explain the terms he just used. “I’ll teach you. Don’t worry.” He pulls her hips into his to hug her from behind. 

“I’ll give you the book after dinner so that we can get this stuff under control. We should be able to get a better handle on what we need to do by then for Phaux’s and that douchebag can get out of here already.” Rose reassures her spinning one of the four sets of keys around her finger, walking towards the lobby. 

Rey nods at Rose, then turns into hug Ben around the waist. “I’m sure you didn’t think you’d be getting such a mess of a mate when you first walked in here.” She rolls her eyes at herself.

Gently he wraps around her. “You’re not a mess.”

“You’re full of shit. Sweet shit. But still shit.”

He lets out a laugh that he some how can’t control. No one had ever told him he was full of ‘sweet shit’ before. He couldn’t imagine what that would even pertain to. Feeling her smile into his chest, helps him feel at ease about things. Well her biological changes, he’s almost positive she’ll open up about later when she reads that book. What he really wants to know is about that asshole and what she’s waiting for in terms of destroying him-keeping him away from their family. There. He said it. Albeit in his mind, but their family was referenced as his now. By him. 

——-

Rey finally has herself together and Ben has gone off to help with the rest of the small maintenance problems. He had even started calling customers back letting them know that they were able to take them tonight if they wanted to return. 

Rey had just finished the alignment, checked the calipers sure enough one was sticking. Normal with older cars, or older overused breaks. She starts to wonder if this is even Arty’s car, or if he claimed to be sitting in it for attention. A way in... something didn’t look right here. She stopped everything and went to re-examine the tires for the leaks. While they were noticeably bald she had a sinking feeling that it wasn’t drifting he was doing. It took some heavy examining but she found it. Each gash took out a solid divot out of the tire which was ripped into. Had she of not been looking, it wouldn’t have been found. ‘I wonder what else he did. He’s obviously working for someone- that asshole. Well, he hasn’t gotten anything to work with. Breakfast, a price, working on the tents with the guys, but aside from that, nothing about her projects. Good enough for me.’ She puts her headphones down again. 

Returning to finish replacing the breaks, because she believes she should always do both on the same axil, so one doesn’t go and have to overcompensate with the good one. Finally, she lets Ben know she’s ready for him to take Arty again. “One more time, once, just up and down the strip checking if it pulls or shakes.” 

Again, Armitage is escorted around the building back to his car, to Ben who has the privilege of scaring the shit out of, to finally be all set and ready to pay. Rey walks through the hangar and meets them in the lobby with the clip board. She has him sign the paperwork and initial sections of it that had been okayed by him and so on. “$865 plus tax your total is $969.54. How are you looking to pay?” All of the icons of what they accept is plastered on the face of the register and yet Arty still manages to ask if they take American Express. “Yes we do,” she accepts the card from him, careful not to touch him. She runs his card noticing his last name, ‘Mother fucker...Hux...I fucking should have known.’ She makes it a point to look over the card, make sure it’s signed. It isn’t, she has to ask for his drivers license, and nods at it when it confirms he’s still with his Dad. She sets a pre-authorization purchase order which will process automatically in about an hour and then taps in the security number to charge him after. After the reader reads the card, she offers the receipt and the one she needs signed. When it’s done, she turns and retrieves his keys, and wishing him a nice completion of his day. She grabs Ben’s hand and walks out with him. 

Armitage gets in and reluctantly starts the engine. Rey leans into Ben, “watch carefully.” Armitage has the worst trouble trying to drive it - listening to the way he handles it grinds through her to hear the clutch be destroyed as he drives away. Rey pulls the lobby door open and everyone is there to greet her. They’re waiting. The boys knew she’d been hunting, so what’s the point in withholding the information now? 

“His name is Armitage Hux, I just found out his last name when I rung him up.” She loosely crosses her arms behind her back. Her family looks at each other and back to her waiting for the reason that’s anything specifically important. “Phaux was founded by Gwen Phasma with Hux’s father. I’ve only met him once- and out of respect I only called them by their last names until Gwen and I became more familiar - especially with the sale last year. Arty is Hux’s son. He’d always be at the special events sulking in someone’s ride, or trying to out do another enthusiast with something he bought instead of created himself.. people would see through it and it’s never long before he starts causing trouble. That Corvette, it was staged, just like this whole event was- except for the spider, that was awful.” Waving them through the gated door, she puts the four tires on the counter. “Tell me what’s wrong with these.” She tests them.

All they do look at them, but no one touches them. She rolls her eyes. “Examine them like you would yourselves.” This comes out snarky but she is teaching them a lesson. The lesson is to learn your enemy. “Poe and Finn, you both figured out I was hunting. How did you know?”

Ben’s attention shifted suddenly-sharper than expected. Poe was right. This again eats at him, but he’s listening. 

“You invited that asshole in, for starts.” Said Poe. “What the hell were you thinking?” This is almost a shout. Rey’s eyes relax and her chin tilts upward on instinct, controlling her body, as she asked for this. She lets Poe unleash it all. “Rey, he’s violent, clearly working on Intel for something, he was with us all day,” 

“And we controlled it. We learned more about him than he did here today. Albeit uncomfortable, it had to be done.” 

“You put us all on display though,”  
Finn pushed out. 

Rose tugged at him. “This is the way things were.” Standing up for her sister. “This is what this was. What are you actually trying to do? You know the dynamic.”

“It’s changed. Ben is here and deserves to know what happens when you’re hunting,” he says flatly. Rey knows what he did. What he’s doing, he’s boldly opening the conversation even though she’s started it in the lobby. Fine. It was out. It was out the way the males needed it out. Rey rolls her shoulders, and Finn steps up instead of being threatened. “You’re going through changes, and you can’t continue to hunt. You can’t stalk your prey, you won’t be able to protect us the same way you have, because you’re mated. Armitage? I know you were testing him. I know this, Poe, the girls know this, but Ben doesn’t.”

“When I do this, I know I have the control I need. This is my home, my garage, my tools, my family, I know I can trust you.”

Oh.

“When I’m taking on a threat, I’d rather be here among you. Phaux’s is coming up and Arty is the least of our problems. Especially because of the idiots he knows. He’s not some car enthusiast, we just watched him have a panic attack every time we did anything to it. Pointers on this: it’s unrealistic to need an oil change even though it was already topped off a month ago, it doesn’t burn like gas... that was the first thing, second all four tires having to be replaced, usually it’s two at a time unless you’ve been in an accident,” she swings her head to stare down Ben. The calipers shouldn’t have been an issue, they weren’t old, they were tampered with. There was no body damage. You have to pay attention,” going back to tires. Rey moves them all to show the gouges and the tires, “now what do you see?”

“How did you know this was here?” Whispers Connix. 

“I realized the breaks weren’t as warn down as they seemed. The car shouldn’t shake like that unless it was tampered with or in an accident.” She stops, “this is knowing my field. I was expecting you to know yours. What do you remember about the day, watching him?”

Connix blinks. They all do realizing everyone had time with him. 

“He’s just as blunt as you.” Rose says calmly. Tension relaxes as everyone has a laugh, even Rey smiles wickedly. 

“He openly stares at my mate. He’s rude to you.” The anger is boiling inside of Ben, “you fed him- took care of him,” he’s mixing things out of order spouting them as he remembers, “he looked at you as if the mark you bare has no purpose, that he’s going to take you from me. And you, you let it go.” 

“Ben.”

“No, you let this go and your brothers had to tell me what you were doing! You’re mine! No one else’s! He put you in danger last he came and you still allowed this.” His scent fills the space and just like that both Poe and Finn pull Rose and Connix back with them so that they can handle this like a couple. 

“Ben!” She’s trying to keep her composure. She’s never had anyone stand toe to toe with her. Her body is still handling a strange vulnerability but she’s still able to enrage. She takes him by surprise. “I’m not sorry for hunting. But I am sorry I didn’t explain it before it started. It’s just instinct. I’d figure you of all people would know that. Go if you feel you can’t handle me.” She turns her heel and pulls up her headphones blaring them as she heads down the hangar to get on the bike she shared with him.

“REY!” 

Rey doesn’t bother putting on boots or a helmet. She’s fucking done with this day. “Fuck Phaux’s, I don’t need this stress!” Revving the motorcycle loudly before she peels out without looking back. 

“Where’s she going!?” Ben roars. He’d expected her to be an omega about his temper tantrum but didn’t expect her to flat out leave. 

“No idea. She hasn’t done this before.” Rose runs down for the 250cc swiftly straddling it and plopping a helmet on. 

Finn chases after her “you aren’t going alone Rose.” He hops on the back without a helmet figuring it would only slow them down. 

Connix hurries up and throws one at him, “don’t be stupid.” She turns to Poe, “Poe go with Ben and take the truck... she’s pissed, she’s gonna burn gas and it’s too hot now to be out like this.”

Grabbing the keys mid toss, Poe leans a peck into her quickly before leaving with Ben. Ben is infuriated, how could she just do this? He thought they were made for each other, fate, everything had been so good. Sure not even a month with her, but she’s claimed now, she should be behaving differently. Ready to conform to him. He replays the time in his head. Everything, every detail, and comes to the conclusion that she’s harboring a very scared little girl within this terror of an Alpha-Omega. She may be grown but even today she accepted that she didn’t know what was happening to her. The rage that she sidestepped from while she was trying to keep her calm-while she was accepting her unnatural vulnerability, was building. He realized not controlling himself purged it and he just wasn’t ready for her slap in the face. ‘Go if you feel you can’t handle me,’ repeats in his head. She can’t even handle herself. This was a cry for help. ‘Go...’ he sees how much pain was pierced into her when she said it. ‘No’ he refused the thought.

They speed up catching up with Rose, she nods at them and speeds on as if to tell the guys that they would find her. She wouldn’t get far. About ten minutes up the road they spot her turn down a dirt path to the left. She rips through dodging dips and overgrown weeds. Finn points this out and they follow. The dust she picks up turns into a wall just like the one she erected inside of her that urged her to leave. 

The entire time on the bike has her feeling like she’s broken again. Her rage heals her enough to keep her strong but barely. She’ll need this to continue. To see her obstacle through. She allows the air to pummel into her like she’s purposely slamming the bike into walls. Her hair whips wildly around her stinging her face, neck, and shoulders as she blisters through it. She’s sure her skin is burning but the air she’s cutting through makes her feel like it’s a cooler fall day. She’s sure she’ll have sunburns after this but presses on. 

Her mind drifts to Ben. He wasn’t wrong in his assessment but it sparked this. This ride. She needed to snuff out the underlying cause or that idiot would return again and again bringing her family between her. The very thing she fought her whole life to protect. ‘Ben...’ she thinks of him and all he’s done for her, her twisted past, that mingled with his. Getting involved. She knew he was different. No other man would be for her. Then she sees how hurt he was when she told him to ‘go’. ‘How could I be so stupid. Why did I allow this? How could three weeks time pose so much of a difference all over miscommunication?’ She’s sure he won’t see it like that. Her heart wrenches. 

‘Focus.’ Her music is loud but seems to whisper while on the bike, someone she doesn’t know: 

“Has someone taken your faith?  
Its real, the pain you feel  
The life, the love  
You die to heal  
The hope that starts  
The broken hearts  
You trust, you must  
Confess”

Rose is close but doesn’t know what’s coming. The truck is right behind her coming up on the right side of Rose and Finn. Rey reconnects with a paved road that curves around a minor cliff side. Rey is low to the ground when she takes this curve, holding the bike steady with the left and palming the ground, grazing the gravel as she pulls back up to the bike. Her hands would have been ripped up like the fabric in her coveralls that seem to be smoking at the friction, of it weren’t for her gloves. 

Ben clutches the dash and leans out the window in a panic. As he watches on and has the worst feeling that she’s going to do more than this. Like she knows where she’s going. “What’s over here?” Poe thinks about where they are, blinks a while before answering. “Poe! Where are we?” He tries again, his patience is completely gone. 

Poe slams on the breaks as he notices what she’s going to do. “FUCK!” 

Ben jumps out of the truck yelling her name. He yells it with such furry as if he’s going to loose her. It doesn’t matter. She can’t hear him. Rose slams on the breaks, jerking the bike to the side as she stares on in horror. 

Flipping up the shield “REY!!!” Finn screams as she purposely jumps the bike off the side, whipping the back wheel into a fish tail to maneuver her weight, propelling her further forward until she know she’s lined up with the lower road. Time seems to stand still. The electricity surging through all of them as their fear spikes like an electrical storm. Gravel kicks up shooting in slow motion as Ben remembers her anger with him - putting his life in danger. He runs up to the side and watches her jettison herself well into the middle of the empty road. She lands swerving violently, leaving streaks on the pavement below and all he can think of is she would be dead if that road had one car on it in either direction. His furry has him seeing red. He stalks himself back to the truck getting in and wanting to know everything they do. Her behavior makes him feel like she’s been this reckless before. 

Rose looks in the distance, “Phaux’s garage. POE! She’s going to see Hux. She’s armed. This isn’t going to end well.” She grumbles. Rose jumps back on the bike telling Finn to go with Poe. He refuses, “Then hold on tight!” She yells through her helmet, staggering a foot to hop as she turns to peel off down the curve towards the garage. It’s twenty minutes from them since they can’t pull the same stunt that Rey just did. 

Phaux’s Garage is polished in terms of garages. Gwen has a cutting edge set up complete with bells and whistles that her garage doesn’t. In comparison to Rey’s hangar, she feels like she’s stepped into the future. While her garage doesn’t service planes like Rey does, the garage is large enough to. It’s an L shaped building that showcases specialty cars on the upper level. The glass must be tempered or bullet proof up there if it’s to withstand the hail storms that have been known to blow through. The building is white, looking as though it was built with cinder blocks and accents of steel around the garage doors that line the front of the building. The entrance was built out too, where there should be the joint garages at the corner, there is a facade that is welcoming as a lobby area for all that come through, especially the wealthy. The facade is warm, faced with cut stone from the surrounding area. She’s sure it’s to make customers think that the land and the people they service is important to them. Whether that’s the truth or a lie, doesn’t phase her. She’s been in there before too, it’s masculine with an all stone interior which is said to keep it cool and while it’s hot out, though she has no desire to be in today. If it were up to her she’d be handling this outside but she knows better. Gwen is a little bit of a fairy when it’s too hot outside. Her setup has a huge lot surrounding the front and back that is usually always full with customers either looking to get either work done or the possibility of an autograph or picture with the owners. 

Easing off the throttle as she comes up towards the entrance, Rey sees the white Corvette she bothered with all morning and was the underlying reason for her shit show with Ben just before. The heat of the day is nearing down on her now in all of her layers, she’s feeling it. Usually she’d be in the pool already. Her mind floats back to Ben now that she’s had her rush of adrenaline. Rey thinks it’s childish that she ran away, but she’s here now and this shit is going to stop at the source. She’s greeted at the door by some short, troll of a man. “I need to speak with the owners. Are they here?” 

“Who are you? Do you have an appointment?” He grumbled. 

“No. I’m Rey owner of Rey’s Mechanics. I’m here to -“

“No appointment. No service.” He snapped. 

She looked down, sharply, looking through him. “You will let me speak to them if you value your life.” She’s escorted in out of the heat without a second thought. She lets her music still pound around her neck. It keeps her aware and ready. The smell of this place is sterile, like preordered parts. It’s not a garage like hers where she actually works on the vehicles. This is all show and part of her is uncomfortable by it. She’s told to wait in the lobby while the troll man gets the owners. Moments after he leaves up the flight of stairs to the offices above it, she notices people starring at her. Not customers. Workers maybe. She clenches her fists, she’s ready. Anyone so much as breathes on her is going to get broken in half. She chargers herself, reheating her blood every time the cool air in the room catches her off guard. 

Someone approaches her from behind and she’s thankful she didn’t snap. It was Gwen and he assistant. “Rey?” Gwen blinks at her, “What are you doing here?” She sounds concerned. 

“Hi Phasma,” she cools herself. “I need to talk to you and Mr. Hux about some things that have been going on sporadically since earlier this month with his Alpha son, Armitage.” 

Gwen nods, offering her time to straighten this out. “He’s not here right now. Tending to something at home he said, but I can help you if you don’t mind it being me and my assistant Bazine.” It’s not a question. Rey nods to this. 

“I didn’t think calling the cops about his behavior was something that his father would like to go through a week and a half out from the show.” Rey simply says. This is not a threat, but she’s not afraid of this conversation. “You see, Armitage has been harassing me and my family, pistol whipping my brother, trying to bite me,” Gwen looks at her in shock at her mark.

“You’re an omega? He didn’t? Rey, you should have reported this!”

Rey puts her hands up to get her to stop her trailing accusatory questions. “I have a mate. It’s not Armitage, but he did try to bite me after I bested him in the third fight of the day.” She continues to tell her about this morning and everything that happened. “You have to understand that I respect you and want to be a part of your show, but if I don’t feel like my family and I are safe, I will withdraw. And I will have to call the police if he keeps showing up.” 

Gwen doesn’t want her to withdraw. Rey has a gift that she hasn’t seen in the new garages these days. People specifically come to support Rey and see what she’s done every year. Having her withdraw will be devastating -she’s sure of it. “No we don’t need that, you’re right. I’ll make sure you don’t have to deal with that anymore. In the meantime, you should get a restraining order,” eyeing her gun, “you don’t need to be doing time because of a jealous Alpha.” 

Gwen offers her to fill up and gives her a water, “it’s hot out there. Take care of yourself.”

“Thanks.” She says pulling up the water bottle pouring some on her to ward off the impending burn. “See you in two weeks, Phas.” Rey remounts the bike noticing the screams of engines coming up in the distance. ‘I don’t have time for this,’ she rolls her eyes. ‘He’s just going to want another fight.’ Leaning into the bike she speeds back down toward the road towards town. Poe leans on the breaks and goes to block the road so she can’t pass. The ground around her won’t support the bike without her falling making her stop pulling her in a donut before being able to control the bike again. Rose comes up behind her still on the 250cc with Finn. Rey isn’t ready to handle this but she has to now. 

Ben swings open the door, glowering at her. Mad about the fight, mad about her telling him to go, which still is wrenching his heart... he’s mad about her leaving and the stunt, not stopping when he shouted her name. He strides up to her in his grease stained shirt and jeans, tousled hair. Her heart starts racing and she revs the bike as a warning. Maybe to snap him out of his stalking figure. He doesn’t fledge. He walks right up to her, his muscles sweat drenched and gleaming in the mid day’s sun. Her eyes are locked on his, burning their way into his the way he is to her. He makes it up to the bike, his hands on her arms, leaning over the front wheel to her. “Where are you going, Omega.” He commands her.

She looks him in the eye just focused as he is, “to finish this.” 

He blinks at her. 

“Get on or back off, Alpha.”

‘Alpha? After all of that, in all of her fury, she still refers to him as her Alpha?’ He lunges into her taking her mouth as his, feverishly kissing her, pulling all of the moisture from her, leaving her hungry for him as he pulled her off of the bike. His grip is unrelenting over her, knocking the wind out of her once as he hauls her over his shoulder striding her back to the truck. He slams the door starring at her in the window to stay put. She does. But she’s silent. The battle is not won. Poe knows not to say anything. Don’t even look at her. She stares at him while he hauls the bike into the back, securing it and getting ready to do the same for Finn and Rose who deserve a shot at the air conditioning too. 

In Rey’s rage, she waits for everyone to get in before hauling Poe to the middle, climbing over him to pull the truck around. She’s not stupid enough to speed down the road in her truck, especially with the bikes in the back, but certainly lets the silence fester. It’s so obvious she can’t see past her pain she can’t see that everyone is in pain by it. About ten minutes down the road they come up to the police station. She doesn’t even bother parking it. Just leaves it in the middle of the lot, pulling her wallet from her bra strap as she strode over to the entrance. 

She knew she looked like hell-probably smelled like it too, but was damned sure that it wasn’t going to get in the way of her finalizing this. Ben whips open the door, calling for her to wait. He runs up to her after seeing her point her finger to the sky and not even look back like she did in the hangar. ‘God damnit Rey’ he thinks to himself as he bee lines it back to her grabbing her arm, snapping her from her thoughts. She whips her head around to see him in her face again. “Where are you going?” He demands again. 

“To get a restraining order-“ She grits through her teeth. 

Ben’s face retorts and releases her like she’s shot him. 

“Not on you,” she’s surprised at his reaction, “I just met with Phasma, she told me to. If you can’t accept me protecting you and my family, then the police will have to!” She searches his face and feels the same pain that he’d given her in the hangar. “Ben? Why on earth would you think it was for you?” The walls she erected to protect her fell as soon as she realized her mate was in pain. 

“I thought I’d pushed you so far that you were willing to...” he can’t finish his thought, overwhelmed by the last hour’s chase.

She gasps, choking on tears that had expelled themselves from her brimming eyes, “...leave you? Alpha.” She shakes her head, “Ben, no!” Rey starts to fully accept a sob. “No, Ben, why would you ever think that? She pulls him back into her clutching him to her, scenting him.

His arms carefully close around her, bending down to lean his cheek against her hair, “you told me to go if I couldn’t handle you, how was I supposed to take that? My mate...” his voice is just about a whisper.

No. No. No.

“I need you Ben. I need so much from you. You’ve helped balance me. You’ve helped me through things I never knew I needed help with. I don’t want to lose you. I can’t you in anger. I’m sorry.” The tears pour from her eyes. If it were blood she would have clearly bled out. He notices her let go of him and slide to the ground wrapping her arms around her body. “Please don’t leave me Ben. Not over this...”

She vaguely realizes he’s sunk down to his knees to comfort her. She knows she doesn’t deserve this. Rey shakily lifts her hand to try soothing him like he’d done for her when he’d saved her from the anxiety attack before. She runs her fingers through his hair as he drops it in front of her. He leans into her hand and she’s thankful for this. Shakily, again, trying to steady herself with her hypersensitive breathing that hiccups through her diaphragm, she runs both of her hands through his hair, tilting his face up to meet hers. Softly pressuring kisses over his forehead, leaning them over his temple and cheek nosing at his jawline, scenting him, there, sitting in the police parking lot. This doesn’t bother either of them. Rey lets her fingers pull through his hair and fan out around his neck and shoulders, kneading into him until he visibly relaxes. 

As he mentally comes back to her, he wastes no time lunging into her. He kisses her sweetly, pulling her back into him. It’s a physical agreement in the form of an apology, and suddenly... she’s too exhausted to move. The beating she took speeding off with the bike had rattled her muscles, not to mention off reading and the jump. What she always knew but never really remembered was how hard it was to land. What the physical toll was. Surviving it this time would make her aware. All of her muscles would feel as though she’d of turned to lead, and smarted as she tried to move since the adrenaline had since left her body.

She needed to go inside, she had to, this is what she came for, “Ben, help me protect you and our family?”

He nods but before anything else he walks back to the truck, thanking his family, asking for the helmets and pulling the bike out of the back. “Go back to the hangar. Make sure Connix isn’t alone. I’ll handle this here.” Poe nods and starts the truck to leave. 

With a fist around the rims of the helmets and the other clutching her to his side, he helps her walk inside. 

——-

The inside of the police department is disheveled, not quiet as clean as she thought it would be. Officers and clerks moving within it were either eating lunch or nose deep in files that seemed to need many references to get through. For a moment she doesn’t know if her problem is a problem until she’s stopped by a woman quite a bit smaller than Rose. She’s older, maybe like Han, ready for retirement. She’s gently looking into Rey’s injured eyes, and guides her to a quieter room so they can speak. All of a sudden it’s hard for Rey to speak. 

“It’s ok dear.” She calms Rey. Ben sits next to her in a similar metal chair which sends welcomed chills through him due to the strength of the air conditioning. He tries to sooth her through this drawing soft circles into her shoulder. 

Rey finally starts to speak, “I need a restraining order on Armitage Hux for my family and I...” Rey explains the history of the issues, “and after meeting with Phasma, she said to come here and keep this from happening again. The trouble too is, Phaux’s show isn’t in Nevada this year. She has it in the Salt Flats in Utah in less than two weeks. I know we’ll be in another jurisdiction there and once he finds out this is in place, I fear things will get out of hand. That we won’t be protected.” She sighs as if it truly pains her, “I should also tell you, I’ve been recently tested, and I’m a mix...an Alpha Omega.” The officer freezes. 

“How much of the test suggested that?” She placed her hand over her chest as if Rey just kicked her. 

Rey blinks a moment, “full Omega, a little less than half Alpha.” 

The officer gets up from Rey’s side and she notices her tag glinting from the reflection of the sterile white lights above, reading Officer M. Kanata. Rey does her best to remember this if she has to get back in contact with hers. Officer Kanata returns with a load of paperwork which all has to be filled out, separate police reports on the counts of stalking he’d participated in. They needed the names of the people covered in the protection of the restraining order, and why she wasn’t registered as an omega in the system. Officer Kanata’s eyes bulged when this smart young woman told her about her life and why she hasn’t been in the system. “Goodness child, you could have been protected!”

“No! I couldn’t have!” She snapped. “There’s nothing safe about foster care! Nothing! It’s like being beaten and starved in prison, not knowing if you’ll wake up the next day! No. I was safest on my own.” Ben tried to be reserved about it and be the strength in the rom for her but it all came crashing down. The very foundation of who Rey was began to shatter as he didn’t know if it was a good or bad thing, but it would be violent, within her that was something he was sure of. Rey released her past. They were there for hours. She’d been offered food and drink as they fleshed out her personal file. Other officers came to aid in it offering things they knew or heard, but at one point she noticed them all hanging in a u-shaped gathering, listening to her over and over again. “That’s why being on my own was safer. And then - I adopted people into my life,” her voice cracks, “I needed them, need them,” she corrects herself. “They became my brothers and sisters.. and just recently, I met Ben.” She nods at his mark and adds, “being with him is the safest I’ve ever felt.” This has his heart skip a beat. Ben leans a kiss into her shoulder. 

Officer Kanata nods and excuses herself to speak to the other officers. Ben pulls Rey into him, holding her closely, kissing her softly as she crumbles within her soul. Her walls were her fortress. She knew no other strength, no other survival. Rey began to feel like a shell of herself and Ben knew. He’d been walked back in on as he scented her but didn’t seem to care, he felt this was necessary and no one was going to stop him.

Officer Kanata told them there was nothing else they needed from Rey and that the restraining order was set for five miles between her garage and him while they were there, and individually he had to back off being the same distance away from them had they been out. “If you feel like he’s looking or have reason to believe someone is stalking for him call us and we’ll have it added to your file.” She scribbles down her name and number, and then the number for the department of justice for the Salt Flats in Utah, “I’ll be calling them and letting them make sure you have an escort for when you’re in Utah for as long as you need.”

Rey lunges over the desk and pulls her in for a hug, “thank you...”

——- 

Poe rolls back in to the lot with Finn and Rose. The cab was silent the whole thirty minute ride back to the hangar. None of them could believe what they just witnessed. Usually she’d go for the shed, never out, never to a place, never to seek someone out. Poe had never been manhandled or climbed over for the driver’s seat. They’ve never seen her so angry. As an alpha it terrified him. The smell she was producing, the fury she emitted, they were sure she was going to kill them all, maybe leave Rose. She loves Rose, but them? He was pretty sure they were dead. 

Finn popped out first and then turned to help Rose. Rose spent no time on the ground alone. Instead she pressed right into Finn with a hug they basically walked with back to the hangar leaving Poe behind. He sat searching his mind in the truck before he exited too. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he called Connix who was in the lobby reading a magazine. Connix’s hour had been broken down into securing the site since she was the only one there. Her first duty was locking up. Turning off the speakers, cleaning up the messes left, pulling whatever garbage bags she felt were too full, piling them by the hangar door and then she looked up at Rey’s room. She shouldn’t have felt so uncomfortable leaving it as it was she thought, but in her caring nature, she strode up the stairs and took care of that smell. It wasn’t there scents together anymore, it was more like a dirty bathroom smell. It was time to be cleaned. She pulled all of the bed sheets and comforter, stuffing it in a big plastic bag because unless it was hers, she was not interested in clutching it to her chest. The sheet load was first, it only took about twenty minutes to do. Once finished she took and hung a towel over the catwalk railing, and then the sheets over top, figuring the sunlight would dry them without having to go outside. Then she put the comforter and pillow cases in the wash since she forgot them in the first load. She doesn’t do much more to their room, just that much so that she wasn’t sleeping in filth. Connix has just picked up her magazine and opened a chocolate kiss when Poe called to check on her and get her to open the door. 

Relieved she opens the lobby door welcoming them back in. Connix hugs all of them as they enter. “What happened? Where’s Rey? Is Ben with her?”

At this moment no one had spoken of what they’d been through. They all searched each other for the right words to say before Rose spoke up. “Rey took off in a fury to take this back to Phaux’s.” She pauses at Connix’s gasp. “She took some shortcut and we tried to follow her but she jumped the cliff down to another road before speeding off towards their garage. I can only imagine what happened there. We caught up with her and had to block her way to get her to stop. Ben got her in the truck..”

“And then she took it over and drove it to the police station. She’s there with Ben. I don’t know how long they’ll be, or if she’s coming back.” Poe’s voice is inaudible. “She looked pretty destroyed after her rage subsided.” Connix pulls him in for a hug. 

The silence looms over them until Finn speaks. He suggests they do what they can to help her lighten the load and work on what they were given for Phaux’s. “Even if she’s not ready to be in here, we can give her the support that she needs right now.”

They all nod to this. 

—— 

Rey was given paperwork on her restraining orders. There were copies for her family too. Folding them up, she stuffed them in the clip of her wallet and shoved it down in her bra. Even the officers looking on thought it was strange. She didn’t mind. Nonverbally she asked Ben to drive her home. He obliges knowing this is her way of letting her Alpha take care of her. They put on their helmets, mount the bike, and ride off. He takes it easy riding home with her. She doesn’t need to be raced anywhere. He just needs her to calm down. To touch him. Make them both more concrete. 

Rey hugs into his back, upset she had to relive all of it, explain herself for not coming forward with this information sooner, fighting with Officer Kanata, who didn’t deserve her fury about a system they didn’t understand. She began to sob thinking about Ben and what her tantrum had done to him. He slowed the bike realizing her grasp was loosening. He’d gasp in pain at the loss and pull over to check her. Each time just as careful as the last. Trying to remind her that she’s safe, and he’s not leaving, and she’s not leaving ... Rey would sniff quiet complaints into his chest until they wouldn’t flow. She’d plans a soft kiss into him telling him she was ok and could go again. 

It took another hour before they pulled up to the hangar. Nervously dismounting, Rey pulls off her helmet and looks on at the doors she furiously left earlier. Ben comes up behind her draping himself over her, forcing her to sit with him on the ground, in his lap until they found the peace they needed. “Why did you go?” He finally asks her.

“No one was listening. I was trying to tell you what I was doing and no one could just let me speak. And then you... I hurt you -unintentionally but I still did it and I needed space. I felt the rage build. I just -didn’t want to hurt anyone. Or you. I figured you’d be safe without me. So I left. I hadn’t wanted to go anywhere specifically until the rage started to dissipate and I could focus my anger.”

“Why didn’t you stop? I called for you. Yelled your name and you didn’t -“ He’s searching for validation. He had commanded her and she didn’t stop like an Omega would. She didn’t freeze, he had no hold. He was sure he lost her. “What were you thinking when you went off the cliff?”

“I couldn’t hear you. I had my music on at the highest it would go and even that was quiet under the screaming engine. I didn’t know anyone was with me until I saw you guys speeding up towards Phaux’s.”

He doesn’t have to ask. “I didn’t see Hux, or his father. Phasma and her assistant sat down with me discussing the issues that have been happening with Arty. She was the one to tell me to go report him. She was the one that said he should have a restraining order on him. That his tendencies would only grow worse if I didn’t. Phasma has me top off there and gave me water—I can’t imagine what she thought when she saw you all come up the road.” She snorts. It’s the closest thing to a laugh she’s handled all day. 

He nuzzles in her hair, “I’m sorry Rey.”

“Don’t be. This was my doing.” She huffed. She breathes in a hyperventilating breath before motioning to stand. “No matter what bullshit happens, I’ll always be yours,” she looks up at him, tears still running down her cheeks. 

Ben brushes them away with his thumb. “And I will always be yours, Rey. You’ll never have to doubt this.” He leans soft, sweet kisses into her, knowing she’s fragile right now. In the moment that their lips touch he realizes, maybe what he was doing was wrong. Eliminating the pain he knew from his childhood. That a good home wasn’t always the best home, that his successes were the only things that drove him... until her realized what he really wanted was something he figured he could ever have. Maybe making her the only focus drove him to the point where he over focused on Hux and her hunting style. Maybe he pushed her to this in some way. Ben figured the best way to handle this was to help her feel like she wasn’t going through this alone. Maybe tonight if she still wanted to read that book with him, he’d share what being an Alpha was to him and how it changed their family dynamic. How it hurt him to be what he was. Maybe she’s feel safer handling her raw emotions then. To be able to talk about them instead of acting out. 

With a sigh she straightens up and out of his hold. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Rey. Always...” his heart finally feels relaxed.

“It’s time to face them.”

———

They choose to go through the lobby since she doesn’t have her remote with her. Before entering she sees Finn’s truck and Poe’s Charger and she rolls her eyes inwardly, ‘I can do this...’ she tries to say. Ben is like a wall behind her, she can’t go again. If she does she might not return, being without a home or friends... alone... she presses forward hoping they are forgiving. Ben notices she’s shaking when she puts her hand up to push through the gated door. He reaches out to hold it. “They’re our family. They won’t hurt you.”

Connix notices her first and runs down from fixing up her room being the first to fly into her. “REY!!” Which startles everyone from what they’re doing. 

Rose also launches herself at Rey, “Why did you leave?” The questions spiral in and she answers all she can. 

“Ben and I talked to the police...” she said quietly. “Phasma said this was the best course of action, and wound up getting caught up in my,” She clears her throat as if in pain, “background.” Pulling the copies from her bra, “you’re all protected under a restraining order both here and individually... and were protected under Federal Law, because I’m a—“ she doesn’t want to say it, “I’m here... effective immediately. I figured - if you don’t want me in charge of it... then accept the police.” She lets out a final sigh. 

They all look at her unsure of what to say when Poe remembers what she said to him this morning, “Rey, if you can move past this, so can we.” The tone in his voice is soothing and she nods at him waving both Finn and Poe into a hug. Ben should hate this but he’s feeling Rey’s stability come back as everyone settles. “So,” Poe steps back from the group, “how about dinner?”

Rey still doesn’t feel like eating but pizza sounds like the simplest thing to ask for. Pizza it is. While they wait Rose and Connix loop their arms with Rey taking her down to see what’s done for Phaux’s and for the customers that popped in while she was out. Rey was impressed that her family had still picked up the slack even though she had her rage fit. “Poe said he figured you’d snap,” Connix said almost reading her mind. 

“He did, did he?” Rey snorts. 

“Yeah. He won’t stop talking about his sisters. It is funny to know how crazy the Alpha in him would get - with his sisters. I can’t imagine what Ben must be going through.”

That zings her a little bit. 

“I don’t mean it like that. It’s just. As Betas we don’t have that same connection you do. It’s like you’re a force of your own. All in power or none in power. You’re that demanding on each other. I wish I could know what that’s like.”

“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be- at least that’s what I think since I can’t even control myself anymore.”

“You will... Rose did you ever give her that Journal?”

“Nah, after dinner,” replies Rose. 

They nod at each other. “I’m impressed with what you did here, the two bikes are done -“ 

“And the gloss on the Mustang. The WRX is curing and the gloss will be going on in the morning.” Rose says. 

Rey shakes her head. “How?”

“We didn’t know what else to do and figured we should help you -it was the easiest decision to make.”

Rey hugs them again. She doesn’t have to say anything. They notice her tears and ask her if she wants to join the boys and sit with them outside. Rey nods unable to voice her own response. 

As they push through the door, Rey hears Ben talking to Poe, “How long has she been riding like that?”

She freezes letting Rose and Connix go first. 

“I don’t know. She had a dirt bike for a while but I have no idea what happened to it.” 

Rey did. She made the mistake of leaving it out and it was stolen. 

“How long has she been jumping like that? Over cliffs?” 

Connix swirls back around dead eyeing Rey who is still in the door, with a wicked grin. “She’d do stunts with me.”

“You?” Poe asks carefully. 

“Yes? Don’t look at me like that...”

Rey is advancing slowly, curious about how Poe never knew. Then again. She was nineteen when she met him. They’d been riding for years before that. In fact, if she remembered correctly, Rose was the one that started getting them into jumping. 

“You wanna get in on this, Rose?” Rey squeaks. 

The blush is rising in her cheeks, “pretty” her grin slips from barely visible to gleaming, “pretty sure I don’t!”

“I’m pretty sure... you were the one to get us jumping...” Connix teases pulling a kiss out of the bag.

Rose can feel the weight of the guy’s stares... surely not Rose. Connix has got to be fibbing. “Is that why you kept telling me to go with Poe?” asks Finn incredulously.

“It could be...?” She still not able to look him in the eye.

“Come on now. Why is this such a surprise?” Rey finally has the guts to speak up and stride though the door. “We’re in auto repair. I’m a mechanic, they’ve been helping me for a long time, Why is it so weird that we know how to do these things?”

“Well, for starters, you jumped off a cliff.” Poe made face when he said it. “Maybe next time fill us in that you know what you’re doing?” He teases.

“Well, she did say she didn’t know we were behind her.” Ben finally adds to the conversation he started. 

“How?”

“Music.”

Poe nods, “Do you have any idea how high you got?” 

“I didn’t get air, Poe, if that’s what you mean. You can only do that if you hit an incline before hand. I just left the side of the road and connected with the lower one.” Rey rolled her eyes. “Don’t make it a bigger thing than it was.” She smiles. 

Just then, the pizza guy rolls up ending that conversation.

——

After dinner Rose sits with Rey and Ben to tell them about the book. “I had a good thumb through while we had to hang with Armitage this morning.” It’s really technical but I found out that you’re supposed to mark each other and there’s some way you’re supposed to do it. It sounded complicated so I stopped reading- Beta after all. Sorry to say my attention span is crap when I can’t relate.“

Rey let’s out an amused giggle. “Thanks Rose. I think I’m going to turn in for the night,” she leans in to leave a peck with Rose, then Connix too. She waves to Finn and Poe before going up towards her room with Ben. Instead of going for her room, she guides him over the catwalk, climbing the rungs of the ladder to the roof. He tilts his head giving a questioning look. Rey tells him to come up, “this is my favorite spot on the property.” He shakily climbs the ladder thinking he may not be able to put his whole weight on the old, rusted unit. When he makes it up, he can see why. 

Rey motions to sit on the ledge created by her sign, it’s barely cooled from the day. She fingers the binding of the journal that was just given to her as Ben sits closely by. Rey blinks over and over trying to bat away her exhaustion. 

“Rey?” He’s controlled but worried about his delivery. 

“Yeah?” 

“Before you read that, I think I should tell you about how I grew up. Maybe understanding the natures of an Alpha you’ll understand more about what your body is doing to you. It’s not like you just wake up one day and have these traits. You’re born with them. They can be dormant until puberty, or they can be present your whole life, which is what I had to deal with. When I was a kid my Alpha tendencies were so strong they had me expelled from school after school which drove my parents crazy. I’m sure that’s why my Dad came out here in the first place. My Mom put me through so many anger management classes, she tried getting me to hone in on it, be trained in multiple fighting styles, sports, anything physical- they had me basically running around the neighborhood just to hope I could sleep. When that didn’t work, for sleeping, I mean, I’d just stay awake. I would be over stimulated and it would just make me so angry.” He sighs, “It’s not like I had a hard life like you. I thought it was awful when it was happening but, God, I met you and I didn’t want to complain about my full life to you. I thought you wouldn’t take kindly to a man who had everything and still managed to complain.” He stops to hear her huff a breath and agree.

“I couldn’t let you think of me like that. So I tried stuffing it away like it never existed. But I’m not a regular Alpha. I’m the truest form. There’s a force within me that I have been trying to control since meeting you because you’re more than an Omega girl making a life out here in the sand. You made me feel like there was more to life, if I could just squash all I held onto, and opened my mind to you that I could be happy. I am most of the time, but I’m also anxious. I want to be the person that knows all about you. I can’t stand hearing how someone else knows more about you than me. So part of me was glad you snapped before. No one knew what you were going to do. I wanted to be the reason you calmed down, and then I understood more about my role as your Alpha. I know that seems to be ridiculous, but it’s just instinct to want to help my mate. I had only known the anger and aggression... but with you it’s all different.”

Rey tosses the book down onto the roof. “I don’t know what I am anymore. I’m just Rey, and you’re Ben, and one day I’ll know more about this biological stuff but —“ she turns to straddle him as he sits on her sign. Rey slips her eyes nearly closed and leans a kiss into the nape of his neck, “I just want to know about what we’ll be together, and more than that, I want to do it right.” She says as her eyes flutter back to his.


	10. Getting Closer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey learn more about each other as they put their findings on her presentation aside focusing on who they are rather than branding themselves in a sexual idiology. With Phaux’s show right around the corner the team gets to work finishing pieces left and right.

Ben searches her eyes, reaching into them for the solace she speaks of. He hears the words at her exhales but needs to know, the same way she searched his for the answer weeks ago. As he realizes it in its purity, the wholeness it, it lights a dire need that burns desperately within him. Rey begins to explore him past the lust that bound them weeks ago. This was something new, a cherished pace. 

Emboldened by excusing herself from her biological contracts she leans into explore him. Inhaling his exhale as if it was a breath of fresh air. His mixture of pheromones with hers swells the desiring flood within her as she presses her lips down to meet his. Pecking and pulling at his lips, urging at them softly but with purpose. Her body rolls into him like crashing waves as he softly enters her mouth. His tongue searching, sweeping hers, pooling their shared saliva that he greedily swallows. 

His hands travel over her toned thighs. The course fabric of her coveralls is distracting. Mindlessly, still hypnotized by her rhythmic, needy waves pressing more insistently into his lips, his hands slide back to cup her ass hauling her closer to his hardening length. Rey hums appreciatively, burying a hand into his thick, dirty hair. It’s noticeably knotted from the fury he’d been through today, and felt oily from sweat as she got stuck in it. ‘Shower later, indefinitely’ greedily needing him everywhere just as she wanted him on every surface in his castle. ‘I’ll get him back on that landing too - maybe even the stairs themselves’ moaning at the the thought.

Rey pulls from his lips, supporting herself with her left hand over his chest, her fingers just barely reaching over his collar bone. She squeezes them down into it, releasing her right from his hair with a slight tug that makes him groan. His hands move, groping and stretching her cheeks apart, digging his fingers into them and pulling his thumbs down into them, pinching Rey hard. It electrifies her, gushing clearly through her spanks. it really doesn’t take much. She thinks it should but she’s so ready for him, the sloppy feeling of her sopping clothing being pushed back up into her with every brush of his covered length is a constant reminder.

Moans pass between her lips as she nips and suckles down his neck over top of his mating gland. He squeezes her again, goading her on to bite him. Again another curl of her hips and squeeze at her now tender cheeks yet again. She nips him but releases just as fast as it had happened feeling his hips bang up into her. Her breath stutters as if he’d just slammed his rigidly hard cock straight up into her, “I need you, K-y-l-o... here... now.” 

The roof is not the safest place as it curves and they could easily fall off of through it, but who is he to deny her, in her favorite place? Sliding her fingers down his chest, clutching at his dirty shirt, she doesn’t wait for a response. He lets her remove it. His pale skin is radiant beneath hers in the moonlight. Rey lightly massages her fingers into every destroyed muscle she tortured in her rage fit today. She peppers kisses over them after kneading into him. 

His eyes roll back into his head as she focuses on his body’s needs that even he hadn’t known about. Stress in general had always been stored in him, it’s how he harbored his anger. He had this inability to release any of it, but here -with her- she seemed to know how to fix that. His aches and pains melted off of him blowing his pupils much wider than they had already seeped to. Lower and lower she’d force her hands into him. Here she’d ground off of him just to push her hands over his hips on either side, massaging gently up his torso and lightly over his back. ‘I’ll handle this inside,’ the thought.

As her massage slows into her hands splaying over his taught muscles, Ben snatches her. Gripping her with his arm, holding her high on his lap again, pulling her tank top off and throwing it carelessly off of her with the other. She hadn’t been wearing a bra. Her perkiness was held up from a shelf bra- a bit of spandex within her shirt. ‘All day she was -“ it irritates him that ‘everyone else who saw her could’ve noticed... even...’

Cupping one of her breasts with the heel of his hand and squeeze his fingers down into her petite, soft flesh, letting her nipple harden between his parted fingers. Her moan sings through him. Watching her arch her back, pushing it further into his hand has her arousal finally leaking from her coveralls. Amused, Ben glides his other hand up her back steadying her, leaning forward to drop his plump lips over her mark. Tasting her over and over, biting just enough leave indentations and sucking bruises into them, pressuring them back out. He kneads into her breast trailing his tongue down to it, pushing it possessively into his mouth. He groans into her, quite possibly rumbling about her deliciousness, she’s not sure. What she is sure of is that there is a tremendous heated sensation sweeping over her from her cheeks, down her neck, spreading like wild fire over her shoulders cascading down her breasts, straight down between her thighs. 

Her moans sound endless to him. Soft but powerful, begging coos like an angel’s chorus. The very sound will be his undoing.

“Get. These. Pants. Off. Me.” She begs out her breathless command. Ben fumbles with the knot she’d tied with the sleeves around her waist, trying to hold her steady with one arm and use the other to release her. It’s not easy. And she knows... without hesitation, she moves his hand from the knot, pushing his hand down into her inner thigh suggestively. Ben watches her as she makes quick work of the knot. Knowing she has to stand to get it off, she bucks hard into him, spreading her folds over his clothed member, before dismounting. Toeing from her boots, she watches him move from gripping the ledge of the sign to opening his jeans and releasing himself of the pain of his sweating cock. 

Rey removes her coveralls at the waist achingly slowly, pulling her legs out one at a time, flexing them as she did, allowing the moonlight to kiss her like his dimmed lamp’s glow had. She watched as he took his pulsating cock in his hand, beginning to glide over himself. Knowing she had no interest in getting off of him again, she returned to her hips, removing her spanks and thong, smiling wickedly at him. Ben gulps thickly which bobbles his Adam’s apple forcefully. 

“Ben..” Rey purrs, kneeling before him.. he grunts at the sight of her nakedness before him. His weight on the roof is frightening which keeps him planted where he is. He’d never really been one for heights, especially ones he could fall from- or more terrifying still, one she could fall from and be at fault for. His desire would only get more persistent he just needed something sturdy he could push her up against. ‘God, if ONLY!’ He’s torn between now and visions of ruthlessly pounding into her... giving her a speed she might not even be able to accept. His eyes wrench closed, when he hears her melt his name.

“Kylo...”His eyes blink open and his parted lips suggest he’s trying to say something, anything, nothing- not even her name comes out. “That’s not yours.” She tries to slow her widening grin, pinning her tongue against her teeth as he tries to make sense of what she just said. “You. Belong. To. Me.” Grasping him just over his hand and pushing him off of his cock, “Let go, Kylo.”

Fuck. 

Ben’s heart rate has doubled, no tripled, far passed experiencing her first coupled heat. He began accepting that this may be his life now, her raciness may even put him into cardiac arrest at that. His hand softens at her grasp moving off of his lap, over her shoulders and into her hair. Fisting it into a ball he yanks her head back down shallowing her breaths and pooling the rest of her locks he’s missed between her shoulders. “Mine,” he growls roughly. Moving her hand slowly for the first pass, reveling in how hard he was for her. In spite of all of the stress of this day, the pain she put him through, he was still aroused for her...oh, the power it stimulates deep within her belly...she starts to move, pass after pass, feeling him throb between her fingers. His gaze should honestly bring her to a halt but it doesn’t. She can only want for more, completely aware that his hold on her hair still remains. Forcing through it, inching but close enough to run the top of her pointed tongue over the surging vein pulsating through him, has her arousal pouring once more from her. 

She thinks he must have been lost in some daydream searching her for something until he’d felt her tongue on him. He must have caught up again at her whine for him which forces her onto his cock. He wants to be gentle, but he can’t, he’s moving as if he’d been possessed by her in the moonlight. Grunting and grinding her head down into him as he violently thrusts popping out several times before she bares her teeth lightly grazing his tip, startling him with a gasp following a guttural moan unlike anything she’s ever heard. It makes her stop, flopping her head cockily to the side, she doesn’t dare say Alpha...instead she begs him to take her. “I need you Kylo.” She whines. “Fuck me...please...”

Against his better judgment, and how much it scared him to be up there, he stands hauling her over to the opening in the oversized hatch they climbed through. Closing it gently so as not to stir alarm, pointing at the handle, “Hold,” is all he can muster. He forces her down with one hand at the base of her spine. Down onto her hands and knees. His cock twitching at the sight. A gentle warm breeze flowing through, reminding them that they’re outside and a primal thought buries him swiftly through her. He had been lost in his fear that he’d forgotten to stretch into her. Her tightness nearly unmanned him as they both cried out in an uncontrolled cathartic way. He’d use her name over and over almost apologetically until he realized she was ready for it. Begging. Pleading. Bouncing against him...”You were made for me.” He bangs into her, circling his hands around her tiny waist. “Being inside of you is all I want. Fucking you. You drive me wild.” He grits out. 

All she can do is beg. The metal from the flat roof is pushing bruises into her knees and making thunderous sounds below her. “Yes. Yes. Please, harder-haaa—-“ she’s spent, gushing over him in such an orgasm she sure to of added stars to the cosmos. 

“Fuuuck....” he spills her name, gasping for air. Rey rasps something incoherent, sounding slightly like she’d thanked him for unloading into her...as if he would deprive her of her needs. 

As his erection softens, Rey wonders what she’d done for a response like that. Boldly she asks him while he’s leaning kisses into her back and pulling out. She cranes her neck to look behind her, “What’s the matter? 

“Nothing.” He’s unconvincing tone lays thickly in her mind. 

“It’s obviously something.” He’s still tensely holding her body as she pulls upward him, her back to his chest. “Tell me Kylo.”

He clings to her, burying his face into her shoulder as if to take shelter, “Not a fan of heights.”

Rey is able to relax that it isn’t her that he’s rejecting -now understanding his hurried pounding, while fucking loving it, why he omitted some things that she really actually enjoyed. Now it made some sense, but how was this tall man that towered over pretty much everything, how was he afraid of heights? “But you’re so tall? How?”

His training had him doing everything a typical Marine had to do to pass through each rank but he would not enjoy some of it. Who actually enjoyed all of it? What type of soldier was that? Not him. Heights were the Goddamned worst. Not to mention hanging out of helicopters - he’d give both of his arms to never have to do that again. Well, now that he has Rey, he rather loves his hands. God what that woman could do to him.. what could he possibly do without? He guesses if push came to shove he’d have to jump because he loved how all of him paired so perfectly to his mate. “I just don’t want to fall- or you,” He says as if he’s morbidly raking over her remains.

“Well. I’ll have you know that I took care of this building for almost ten years now and it’s never been stronger.” She says cheekily.

“I’m so much bigger than you though.”

“Have you fallen through?” She teases. 

He blinks at her. She’s enjoying herself. “Please just get our clothes and your book.”

Rey nods. Her ears turn up, flushing her cheeks. “Do not go down, I don’t think they left,” she giggles. Rey softly removes herself from his hold, crouching to her knees to the side of him...She takes in his concerned look, pressing a kiss into his cheek. She tiptoes in such a way, she could very well be an assassin the way she moves. Flighty, like a passing shadow, soft and quiet, you’d never know she was there. Sure enough, they aren’t alone. ‘Well, Connix at least has the right idea... marking the world, now having done the deed outside, seems like something should completely get used to. I should apologize in the morning...’ Rey gets dressed, wincing at how uncomfortable cold soaked spanks felt, rushing to put everything else back on, grabbing the book, tossing it on the back of the sign so she doesn’t forget it. Managing to put her boots back on, looking all around looking for his shoes when he reminds her they’re by the pool. Perfect. ‘He’s going to be terrified going back down won’t he?...’ Rey picks up his clothes and is gentle with him. 

His eyes are wide watching her come back to him. “I’ve got you,” she doesn’t realize how much control she has on him until she helps him with his shirt. He exhales heavily into her face. “Do you feel ok enough to stand?” One quick nod has her helping him up in that same spot. She pulls his boxers off of the pile, helping him into one leg and then the other. She keeps her hand on his stomach leaning again from him, grabbing his pants. Again helping him with one leg, then the other, then pulling it up where he feels confident enough in this moment adjusting himself, fastening the button and pulling the zipper. She just stares at him a beat. “Ok?”

“Okay,” his eyes elated that she could keep his fear at bay while she tended to him. “Rey...”

“Yes?”

“You’re everything I’ll ever need.” He leans in to kiss he sweetly. 

Rey keeps her hand gripping his waistband to lean and grab the book. She’s tempted to let his pants hold it but she can’t tip the scale. ‘We still have to make it back in.’ “Do you want to go down first or should I?” Her mouth twists up unable not to laugh at the words she came up with. She moves the book behind her shoving it into her spanks and literally just throws her coveralls through the hatch itself.

He shamelessly looks her over, “you go first, that way you can watch me,” her eyes go wide. ‘Oh right through the hatch.’

She literally jumps down it. He’s sure she put her legs on either side of the ladder and slid down it before jumping down onto the catwalk. He gulps. 

“Ben? Turn around and take the ladder there are three rungs. Take it slow. When you’re on the last one reach back with one leg slightly further than the rungs. You’ll hit the catwalk and be fine.” He nods. She guides him even though she just gave a basic instruction. He makes it, and hates the catwalk too. Ben gulps at her, “Bed?”

“You’ll never have to question that,” she laughs. 

“Why didn’t you tell me you didn’t like being up there?”

“I wanted to be there because of you.”

“You would put yourself in a-“ she stops realizing this was his ‘thing’. 

“Dangerous place, for you.” He leans into her, now safe on her bed. 

Of course he would. He already has. Laying on her side to face him, draping her leg over his waist, “it’s ok to tell me. I’m not going to laugh. Fear is awful. How did you- were you able to finish?” She actually blushes asking the question. 

Her question is met with his hardening erection. ‘Well that didn’t take long.’ She smiles at him when he slaps it against her thigh. 

—-

Over the course of the next few days parts came in, which included her LEDs for the remainder of her light design, the chrome sheets for the R6, the CRB was being primed, the Harley and the 250cc were lined up under the lift in the corner to stay out of the way since they were done. Rose has been done glossing the Mustang and the WRX which had been parked basically in her kitchen area which she rarely used unless she was snatching a fist full of granola in between jobs. Her kitchen was literally a drink vending machine she modified, and a couple of cabinets to hold her food. It was a safe bet not to be able to call it a kitchen after seeing Ben’s, but it was still hers.

Ben and the others worked on their designated projects, pulling around to see each other’s progress as theirs had come into completion. 

“Connix has been trying to get a carrier all week and they’re are only a few going. It’s going to be expensive. At least double what we paid last year.” Said Finn. 

Rey scrunches the space between her eyebrows and nose. Finn wasn’t there last year. He was stationed on the east coast. “Well, we don’t exactly have a choice. Can you pull their ratings and tell me which you’d rather do? Or do you think one of you can pass the freighter drivers test this week?” 

Finn grumbles “you know that takes longer than a day.”

Rey smiles. “We’ll be fine, just pick one and tell me.”

“Wait.” Says Ben, “let me call my Dad, see if he knows a guy.”

Rey’s eyes light up. It would be so amazing if he would show up. Rey had always been proud of what she could do, but a part of her wanting to belong to a family made her want this even more. She wanted to show him all of the incredible things they were able to pull off. “Thanks, Ben. I’d appreciate that.” She says sweetly. It seems they’ve found their rhythm. All of them working together. This is the most at ease she’s been even under the pressure of this deadline.

Connix and Rose gathered a list of what needed to be picked up elsewhere, “call us if you want anything else.”

“Ice cream!” Rey adds to their list. 

“You don’t have a freezer!” Rose calls back. 

Rey sighs... that’s right... she laughs, “guess we’ll have to go out.”

The girls squeal. They love that Rey is actually trying to acclimate herself into the world. They think it has something to do with being protected by law. Rey has been actively working on letting things go. Not work, never work. But letting her emotional turmoil go which has been making it so much easier for the guys to get along with her. 

They wave as they leave and Rey returns to finalizing the lights in her ride. It was tedious but everything is secure. She calls to the guys, “Lights OUT!” They know to stop, because she doesn’t wait. That’s frustrating but this time it’s worth it. The way her car glows is fantastic. The glow really brings it together. She checks over each panel making sure that everything is perfect before sighing and sitting before it in awe. Rey knew one day she’d finish it but never thought it would be in time to show it. The guys come over to congratulate her. This was a huge success. After a beat she taps out a few codes turning the lights back on and turns off the show. Rey manages pulling her car back by the bikes and then remembers the Audi. ‘What was wrong with that again? Oh yeah, the door handle gets stuck and won’t release. Everything else about it is fine, just needs a good cleaning.’ Rey turns her head looking at the Mustang, ‘Speaking if cleaning... oh and the truck..’ which she thinks is odd because they’ve been using it since and no one has said anything about it’s smell. Must not be that bad—‘ she lets out a giggle, a little louder than she had expected to. 

At the sound, Ben’s head pops up from drawing out the basic sketch of her headset since he’d finished everything he could already. She looks genuinely happy. Had he Of though she was beautiful before, her happiness and calm were stunningly beautiful to him. She turns to get the keys for the Mustang, lifting her eyes from the ground where she’d shook off her thoughts, up towards him. Ben locks his stare into hers. It stops her for just a moment realizing how crazy she must sound, when she pulls her hand to her mouth, popping of a blown kiss to him, striding towards the key box in the front. 

Ben watches her the whole way there and back before being approached by Finn. Finn tries to be casual, nodding at him, breaking him of his concentration before setting down a speaker system he’s working on next to him. Pulling a stool over, hunching over the unit looking over at his drawing. “What are you doing?” He asks, clearly impressed by his technical skill. 

“Rey is allowing me to present her creation to Apple.”

“You work for Apple?” He can’t contain his excitement.

“Yeah.” He finishes the right side of the design proposal, “I’m a product designer. Currently, a little while before meeting Rey, I started freelancing instead of being in headquarters.”

“Wait, you’re a head designer?” 

“Well, yeah but it’s not as full of a life as you’d think.” He sighs, “I wanted to do this for Rey as a way for her to gain the benefits of this development. If they except it, it may open doors for her in the future.”

Finn nods. “Can you speculate on what’s coming out soon?”

Ben lets out almost a laughing sigh, shaking his head. “I wish I could.”

“I had to ask.”

“What are you working on?”

“Setting up miniature subwoofers for the WRX. Rey literally has no idea.” Finn puts his finger to his mouth, hushing this conversation down like it never happened. 

Ben shakes his head, grinning at him. 

Rey’s finished detailing the Mustang, it really wasn’t as bad as she’d thought, but still with lights being an important part of teen scene, she didn’t need someone waving a black light over their mating scene. Her memory of that morning has her wondering is she should really keep it.  
Odd thought, even for her. She dismisses it and closes the door with her cleansers. 

Next she needed the table the boys were at... they seemed so busy in their work though. Instead Rey made her way down the hangar to Poe. 

“Hey,” she offers watching Poe get the final cuts done for the R6. 

“Hey. Can you you hold this straight?” He points toward the end of the sheet he’s trying to line up before the cut. She does. One request leads to the next and somehow she’s already helping him pound out the shape of each panel with a rubber mallet. “You know, if you’re really planning to turn out some of these in the future, a press and a three dimensional printer would be really helpful.”

Rey laughs. “Noted, I’ll add that to the list.” 

It literally takes hours to get it right, but it’s finally ready to be welded. Poe wheels it down to the back where she can enjoy the natural light as she likes to. Something about pulling the shield over her face, just makes it too dark, and the offset light helps her balance the piercing light of the flame. 

Rey goes to get changed depositing her tool belt and remote down by the table along the wall before jogging up the stairs. Welding is the only time she ever wears jeans. They’re tight enough so that if a spark takes she can just slap it down, instead of panicking about catching fire on the loose fabric of her coveralls. Rey is quick to change, still in her work boots, running right back down the stairs. Welding is honestly one of her favorite things about this job. Making something new. This will be a close second to her car, but the most magnificent bike she’s ever created. 

Of course Ben notices how excited she is about this. She practically looks the same as she does when she sees him. Which honestly, is a strange thing to compare himself to. Slightly unwelcome while she’s joking with Poe.

Finn notices Ben’s reaction to it. Forcibly pressuring his thumb into the top of his eraser. “Did you guys, uh...” now feeling like a feminine conversation starter, but having to finish it anyway. “Did you ever read that book Rose picked up?”

Ben nods. “I didn’t. It’s not exactly written for a non-medical crowd, but Rey seems to like that disjunction style writing.”

“What did she find out?”

“Well for starts that she’s really not that different from an Omega. Which helped her calm down.” His brow furrows, “the distinction between being an omega and an alpha-omega can vary though, which she’s still figuring out.”

Being an alpha himself, Finn wonders what that means too. 

“According to what she shared so far she said our make up is designated into three groups: Physical, Mental and Sexual which binds the two into one. It’s safe to say that the sexual category is considered two though so it’s not a surprise she presented less than at half as an alpha too. Rey is a physical person, and while she doesn’t want to admit it,” he shakes his head, “she’s handling the mental part of it too with her background.”

“But I thought you were just born with it- not that it could evolve.

“I don’t think it’s evolving. I think it was just dormant- something woke it up.”

Finn braces himself and asks if he thinks it was Ben’s doing. Ben’s face turns, but accepts this as a possibility. “I’m not sure. It’s possible but, she’d been handling her heats and terrifying lifestyle for years, I can’t imagine why that wouldn’t have sparked it. 

“Well-“ Finn looks over to her, “you’re good for her. Steadiest thing she’s got. Our lives are just getting started and I’m just glad she has someone that actually respects her.” Finn gets up from the table, nodding again and getting ready to bring over the speakers to the car. 

This resonates with him as he watches her move around the bike looking for the remaining sections to do. 

Rey doesn’t attach it to the bike just yet. The body had to be made before buffing it. Poe offers to handle this part which Rey is actually thankful for. Buffing is not her jam. Usually Rose or Connix would pick up the slack with that but they’re still out. Rey looks up at the clock and notices it’s already 4pm. ‘How?’ she wonders making her way back to Ben. 

“I thought you didn’t like pants,” he teases. 

She laughs pushing at his arm, “not my favorite, no- but most practical for this type of work,” she eyes the torch.

“Is there anything you can’t do?” He teases trying to hide how much he enjoyed watching her. 

“There’s plenty I haven’t done. I figure I have you for all of that.” Her eyes lower from his to his lips, settling a sweet kiss into him.

“Ooooooo,” Rose teases walking back through the door with Connix. Rey doesn’t back off, she’s gotten used to it by now. Ben always tightens his grip anyways. So there’s no point in resisting the moments. “We got stuff for burgers, once you’re done tenderizing your-“

“Rose.” Finn stops her.

“Finn..” she teases his chid. Taking a moment, “Wow you guys got really far! What’s left? Just the Audi?”

“Yeah, and Ben’s car...” says Rey, finally pulling from his lips, still pressed into his chest. “I’ve neglected it for too long.”

“I-Well I think you’ve been a little bizzay,” teases Connix, pulling in a large box. 

“Oh good you were able to get it,” Ben thanks Connix and tells her she can put it beside the table. 

Rey can’t possibly think of what she ordered that was that big. All of the parts she needed were small. The biggest today was the LED strips. “What is that?”

“Something for the R6, once it’s done.” Hmm. Rey shrugs and lets it go. Ben is a little confused by this. Everyone he’d ever known including his mom would be way too excited about a box, but not Rey. 

Connix and Rose look at each other like he doesn’t realize he omitted it was for her. They shrug at each other assuming there’s a reason and get dinner prepared. 

The buzz from the buffer slows to a stop and Rey knows it’s time to apply it to the body. “Why don’t you come help?” nudging into Ben. “You’re going to need a mask” she says pointing at the tools on the wall. Sweetly, she waits for him, before making their way to Poe. 

“Alright it’s all you.”

“Wait, I need both of you to hold it steady.” Rey explains that she’ll tack it so it’s not awkward, “but I need you to hold it steady so the weld stays strong and clean...” she nods, swiftly pulling the shield over masking her face purposely. Flicking the flint spark, she ignites the torch ready to finish this bike. Each pass is completed just as cleanly as she spoke of. As the metal cooled in its many attachments from its fiery orange back to a flint grey color she allowed it out. Rey let’s out a relieved sigh when she twists off the gas. Finally standing,  
“Poe, why don’t you do the honors?”

Stunned. “Wait me?” It has to be a joke, he looks over her face but there’s none applied. “You want me to take it out.” 

“Yeah, why? Is that weird?”

Poe doesn’t know what to say and stumbles on every word including breaths. The bike is immaculate. He cannot imagine why she would...

“You buffed the bike. You get first licks.” She said smugly. “Go on and get Connix, I’ll bet she’ll fight you for it,” Rey’s unable to keep the honesty giggles from bubbling up.

“Go, or I’ll take it first...”

Poe sticks his finger up, calling for Connix, finding her starting up the grill. “Wait! Wait. Wait...” hooking her arm with his and turning it off. 

“Poe, what?” She’s whirled around almost losing her balance. 

“Come on! I gotta show you something... Rose you too!”

—-

The R6’s design over exceeded Rey’s expectations. The chrome body is beautifully built to imitate the original body, adding guides accents setting the windshield, headlights and all angled edges to keep them clean. There is one double band that artistically flares on only the left panel leaving space where she plans to engrave: RK Original. For now though, it is another stunning jewel in their collection this year. 

Rey’s got her arms around Ben’s waist waiting in the silence, not realizing Finn is still in the WRX working on the sound system. His back is killing him from the multiple positions he’s contorted himself in so he sits back in the driver’s seat enjoying a moment of rest. He whiteness their sweetness together, relating it to what he has with Rose. Ben’s respectful to her, even in this intimate little moment waiting for everyone to come see the bike, he hasn’t probed her for something more. Just a simple kiss, moving her hair over her shoulders and ‘thanking her for accepting him? That is not an Alpha thing to do...’ and inwardly rolling his eyes at himself, ‘I’ve done enough by Rey to suggest I was a Beta, so I can’t really say anything,’ he lets out a little chuckle. 

“OH MY GOD REY!! THE BIKE IS BEAUTIFUL!” Connix screams down the hangar to her. 

“Poe did most of it. Figured you guys could do the honors.”

“No shit!?” She exclaims. 

“Yeah,” She giggles, “tell me how she rides.” Knowing full damn well how the bike rides, but Connix was even better than she was. “Poe’s turn first though. He did most of it...”

Ben leans down into Rey reminding her softly that they defiled that too. “There’s a world out there I’d like to mark with you” she purrs. Just in her delivery alone, he could swear he could hear promise, as if she had a map to mark. She continues “They’ll be fine - you know it has been cleaned. I’m not a complete savage.” 

Poe and Connix are hilarious play fighting over the chance to be the first to ride it, but when Poe goes to straddle it first, Connix looks like she died staring at him. She’s practically drinking him in as he looks her over, over his shoulder through the lifted visor. “Yep. Yes. Oh my God- just sex on wheels.” Connix beams, “Rey I just- you are going to kill it this year!” She mounts behind Poe. Even with her visor down she continues hammering out beautiful curses out about it. 

The engine screams as he flies down the strip. “I never knew he could ride like that.” Says Rose. 

“Me neither...”

Ben knows Rose is going to say something inappropriate. It’s begun to be very clear that despite her short and sweet disposition, she can be quite disarming. Finn seems to think so too. He listens in and speak of the devil if she doesn’t lift her eyebrows over and over. The guys groan, making them both spit raspberries before trying for the joke anyways. “Please don’t” Finn pleads, he curses under his breath about if she has to insinuate how another guy does anything, he’s going to lose his mind. 

Rey gasps realizing the design is doing exactly what she’s hoped it would. It mirrors the surrounding sky and landscape beautifully making it look like Poe and Connix were floating. She’s stunned. Words aren’t formulating. Nothing. Just awestruck in silence. 

Ben bends into her ear, “good job,” nipping at her ear. His voice stays low thinking about whether or not he wanted to give her the thing he had for her. Another exhale has him decided on waiting, noticing how she’s leaning into him.

“Group effort.” She tried to say pointedly. “Speaking of tonight you’re helping me take apart your engine.”

“Wh-what?” 

“NSX-“

“You..”

“You mentioned to Finn you were in weapons. Which means, you must know how to dismantle, clean, and rebuild...”

Every syllable is burning through him.

“Think of her like a weapon...”

His breathing gets heavier. 

“Strip her and fix her.” She knows the provocative angle she’s taking is swelling through him. She knows he’s not applying them to the car... his lips part and she knows she’s succeeding. “I know you can...”

“Rey-“

“You’ll learn...” she searches his burning eyes cocking her head to the side. 

Poe and Connix make it back and she basically pushes him off. “I’ll be right back...” she winks before jumping to 140 right down the strip. 

“CONNIX!” Poe exclaimed. 

“She’s fine-“ added Rose. “We’re probably the best riders you’ll e-v-a-r know,” she laughs giving a hip roll. 

Rey can’t help but laugh. Sure enough Connix had to show off ending her ride with a front nosed wheelie. “Rey... you’re going to have such an amazing showing. I’m so jealous- I can’t even!”

“You should have seen how awesome you look floating out there. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen!”

——

After dinner they get ready to get ice cream taking three cars since it was getting late. Ben offers to drive almost every time he can just to glance over at Rey out of her element. He loves taking over. Mostly because she loses her ability to stay in control, it’s his way of summoning her Omega side. She’s gotten pretty comfortable with him, at least here in the cabin, nearing him, nuzzling into his side in silence. These are some of his most treasured times, when she’s comfortable and knows she’s safe.

At the parlor, “No way! They put brownies in ice cream?” She looks around at the other flavors, “what have I been missing?” 

The server behind the counter cannot believe he’s hearing this. ‘How can this woman not know this?’ He’s trying almost too hard to hide his amusement. 

“You know what? Yeah I’ll try that. One scoop please.” 

“Bowl or sugar cone?”

“Sugar cone please.” That she was sure of. Rey’s has ice cream in the form of Drumsticks before. On a really hot day she could have them as her only source of food. Ben couldn’t help but hear how many times she said please, it was driving him crazy, more so when Rey picked up on it. He’d offered some of his dipped cone, he’d received just before her. His choice didn’t surprise her either, dropping her head to the side, “of course I want some,” pawing at him suggestively. Starring at him she encircles the dipped swirl with her mouth lopping it right off the top of his cone.

A grunt and a slip sound ring out across the counter. The employee witnessing this exchange made her blush, realizing they had an audience. Ben was holding the cone like she’d just made him impossibly hard over a little bit of dairy. Her gleaming smile widened, eyeing his cone, “why don’t you enjoy that...I’d rather you later anyway.” Receiving her new cone. Rey thanks the clerk and they make their way back outside to join the others. 

“What’d you get?” Asks Rose. 

“Chocolate with brownie chunks, it had a name but I don’t remember it.”

“Oh that’s a good one!” Rose is a sucker for mint chocolate chip and prefers the ice cream to be green or it’s not good. “This place seems to be the only parlor I know to serve the true mint chocolate chip.” She giggles. Finn and Poe opted for Mr. Misty drinks. Grape for Finn and Cherry for Poe who waits to polish it off in the car. He knows the stain it makes on his lips and is not in the mood for the spectacular teasing adventures Rose and Rey have been known to shower over him. Connix wound up with a vanilla sundae with loads of caramel. Caramel is her weakness. She loves it so much, that once she had even tried to make it. Worst idea ever. It spilled out of the aluminum pan and into the grill. Burned caramel stank for days. They were almost positive they’d need to rig up another grill. 

“So basically, we’re pretty much done right” Asks Poe. 

“Finn is still working on the speakers in the WRX, and the Audi needs some minor details. I think it’s just a new tail light and rims, not much else. And then the 250cc, That needs the body panels, but needs to be cleaned first. Otherwise, we just need to put the tacks on them for protection when we transport them.” Says Rey. 

“If the Audi just needs lights and all that, I can handle that,” Rose perks up. 

“That would be really helpful actually.” Rey takes a lick full of ice cream, pulling a brownie from its setting, leaving a crater in its wake. “I have to take apart Ben’s engine anyway. Long overdue.” She giggles taking another lick. 

“That’s a project...”

“When are you planning to do that?”  
Asks Connix.”

“Tonight,” She stifles a yawn.

“Uh-huh?” The girls laugh enjoying their treats. Rey blushes obscenely.

“Speaking of ‘things you want to do’,” Rose wiggles her eyebrows, “I hear you want to go out of state to see some things

Gerlach, is supposed to be the best place to see the stars- it’s not that far and not out of state, I know, but I’d LOVE to see the Milky Way... I remember that in a book when I was little... besides that, I want to swim in the ocean, go sailing maybe,” her eyebrows raise, “I l’d love to see the crystal blue water like they print on my shampoo bottle. That has to be real right? I’d love to see snow...I’m sure there’s so much out there to see.” 

“Oh Yesss. I’m sure the pictures are real... but Yes! The ocean is amazing. There is almost nothing like being knocked over by a constant rhythm from an unstoppable force.” Connix insinuates. 

They hear the guys grumble uncomfortably.

“We should totally go.” Connix reveals more about her past. “Before we wound up out here, my Mom had a friend that we’d stay with for the summer. She lived close to the beach so we basically lived out there. The guards HATED us. We’d be there from sunrise to sunset. I remember being yelled at ALL the time.”

Poe snorts, “I believe it!” 

She ignores him, “I liked jumping from the pier. Well when they weren’t fishing there. Learned that pretty fast.”

“Wait what?” Poe cant hid the fear in his voice. 

“-always check. No jumping while fishing.” She lifts her skirt high enough to share the view of an awful scar that looked like something bit into her flesh. “Yeah that sucked, salt water is a mother fucker if you get a gash - but it does clean it well.”

“Noted!” Rey can’t contain the horror in her voice that a hook did that to her as a child. “Why did you?”

“I loved the rush. And out doing my brother. That was always the best feeling. Shoving it in his smug little ass kissing face.” 

“I’m sensing some hostility...” snorts Rose, knowing Jae was a complete waste. 

Connix rolled her eyes, “you know - don’t even pretend. ANYWAY, you won’t be disappointed.”

 

They enjoy lighter conversations about where Finn and Poe grew up before making their ways out to Nevada, adding to Rey’s interests in traveling. Once they finish their treats, they wish each other a good night before going home. Rey goes to get in the passengers side noticing how Ben’s staring at her. She can’t help but bite her lip. It doesn’t take her long to lunge herself at him, regardless of the passenger door still open, outside of the parlor, for all to see.

His breathing is ragged, grabbing tightly onto her hips, he pushes her down into the seat, moving his whole frame over her to close the door before enjoying his real treat. Her. “You. Are. So. Delicious.” He devours her mouth which tastes like brownies. 

And.... and.... oh....

His hand ventures down, behind her, cupping her cheek, gripping it mindlessly. Ben’s mouth goes slack as he notices her arousal. Her smell is intoxicating. Squeezing her tightly, he drifts his other hand down from her hips that are already rocking, aching to be plunged down into.

Yes. He revels in watching her wither beneath him. He hasn’t even touched her and she’s already wet in anticipation. Skimming his thumb over her clit, ever so softly, enjoying her jerking hips. He squeezes her ass cheek and circles around her sweet spot listening to her beg him. Though the crowd, and stragglers passing to the sides of their higher set cab, he’s getting nervous that someone is going to stop them, signaled from her needy moans. 

Out of sure brazen need, Rey pulls her hips up to lower her shorts, just enough. Rey’s blood sings when he resumes pressure on her bits.

“Do you have any idea what you do to me?” Licking between her fold, parting her, sucking lightly on her labia. Her moans ripple through him like bombs exploding under his skin. 

Luring her. Prodding her walls with his tongue. Rapturous sensations building through her body, she can’t help herself, whining for her “Alpha!” She’s not even in heat and she can’t see past the blind pleasure this man, her man, can provide. He plunges his fingers one at a time, at a powerful rhythm, has her coiling her body frantically, bucking hard into him. 

“Oh, yes!” That’s why I do it...” she’s close, so close and Ben has the wherewithal to remember she had loud releases, so he covers her mouth with his paw as he drags her through her orgasm. Tintinnabulation and an odd weigh settles in her ears as she comes down from this cloud. Lying limply across the seat as he laps up her fluid greedily, more so than the melting ice cream from before.

“Fuck Ben.”

Driving back to the garage, Rey’s decided to release him, returning the pleasure, he’s barely remembered to stop for two stop signs and barely makes it into her lot before he throws it in park. Rushing out the drivers side door, he hurries to hers, his hand around his arousal, opening the door urging her down to him. Bending her over, shielded behind the open door, he slides into her, pushing himself all the way to the hilt. He groans being accepted completely by her, right where he belongs. 

Her moan beckons him to ease out and back in conducting an orchestra or hisses, moans, and cathartic screams of her begging for him, harder, and faster. She’d been so loud he had to muffle her again, covering mouth as her pleasure poured out of her. Rey sucked onto his finger as he finished. Grunting her name over and over again until he’d shared his entire load with her. 

“Check.” She cooed. 

“Check what?”

“Check that one off the list.” Smiling blissfully into him as he stayed bent over nipping at her shoulder.

He stops. “There’s a list?” He hears her giggle. “I need this list...”


	11. Let Her Teach You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Ben spend the night fixing his engine, and Rey is bent on knowing more about her mate. This resonates with him. Rey sets up to fix the remainder of the car before taking a systems check. Han and Leia offer to help them with transporting their vehicles to Phaux’s too, how nice?

Rey sticks to her plans as they head for the hangar while Ben takes on the sight of her, still aroused but confidently gathering all she needs. Rey calls to him asking if he’d grab her belts and wheel over the red tool cabinet. In the meantime Rey makes it to the front for paper and a pencil, returning to him staring at her. 

“What?” She asks. 

“I’m just taking it all in,” he manages to say. 

“Taking what all in?”

“This.” He wraps his arms around her waist. “Us. What we have.”

Rey blushes nuzzling into him. “It’s certainly been different, but I’m glad it’s with you.” They share a sweet kiss before she taps at his chest, meaning to focus on fixing the engine as originally planned.

Adjusting her belts to her, and asking him to pull the car to the lift, she punches a code, lowering the chain. She’s quick to release the bindings, bringing the hook to meet the center of the engine before pulling it out. The lift had to be guided up slowly out of the car and she took no chances speaking, let alone breathing before it was out and moved to hover over the table they would be using for disassembly in the center of the room. She lets out a heavy, relieved sigh knowing she was lucky the lift didn’t sputter. Setting it down, she worked on guiding Ben through what they were doing and what he was seeing as if there would be a test when they reassembled it. That was truly a test. 

Once it was apart it had been laid out like a crime scene complete with numbers of which they disassembled it by. “I’m just going to use WD-40 and a microfiber rag to clean these.” She pulled a case of it readying and a rag, readying him for a tedious cleaning. 

The task was exactly that, which gave them time to talk. It dawned on her that she’d been the main focus of a lot and wanted to know him. “So, I was wondering, how did you wind up around these parts?” She raises her brow, “not many look to start their lives out here. Or restart.” 

He fesses up, furthering an explanation he had originally provided. 

”That’s brazen.”

“What do you mean?”

“‘Could have been a gang thing. Not a lot of riders like being chased.”

“Oh...” this is still new to him. 

“I’m glad you did.” Rey stops him from his inward thoughts, smiling about her admission. 

“I figured,” He offers a lopsided smile. 

She just had him not twenty minutes ago and there she was among all of these carefully laid out pieces, watching his long hair flop carelessly to the side with his gaze and chills run up her spine, as if they just met. She places the piece that she’d been rubbing clean down, ready to pounce but asks another question instead, this time about how it could have been her luck to have such a handsome alpha had been raised by the same man that took her in - sort of. “This sort of thing never happens to me. It’s like-“ she’s caught by his stare, stopping her heart almost completely. ‘Those eyes...Why is he so distracting?’ She clears her throat.

“What’s it like?” He teases her with another liquefying smile. 

“I’m obviously new to all of this, but it’s like,” she looks up shaking her head, “like finally being offered the olive branch. Knowing that things- life will be so much better now that you’re here.” She looks down for the next piece, “it’s so unlike me to think like this. It’s been a learning curve, for sure... but I’m glad it’s with you,” she repeats herself. She’s met with a kiss carefully leaning into him over the parts. “I want to know you past all of this. Past what you’ve given, past your delightful sex habits,” she breathes into him, “I want to know all of you- everything you can give. I need to know my Alpha.” 

He groans, pulling from her lips. This is actually the first time a woman had ever asked him of this. Usually they were only interested in his muscles, weight on top of them, how he was in the bedroom and his impressive size. Rey was the first on so many levels. “Where would you like to start?” He asks incredibly curious of what she’s really after. 

“Well, lets start with your birthday, when’s that?”

“November 19th, you?” He couldn’t stop the question.

“I’m not actually sure, I always thought it was in May so I stuck with that, picked the 15th so I could get three high fives from the girls. One from each and then myself,” she claps her own hand. “It would be nice to know someday.” She shakes her head, “Next question, what about favorite color?” 

“Black.” He though about asking but didn’t. 

“Yellow here.” ‘Though the gorgeous shade of black that your hair is does things to me... where did that come from?’ “How about, favorite time of year?” 

“January. I like it because of the lake effect snow in upstate New York. It could be a bright and blue sky day and within minutes could drop a foot of snow just like that.” He snaps his fingers. 

“What’s snow?”

He blinks at her. “It’s kind of like ice but white and fluffy, and when it coats the ground it looks like icing is covering all you see.”

Rey’s eyes widen. “Will you take me to see snow?” 

“Sure, but you’ll have to wear pants.” He laughs at her. “What’s next?”

“Least favorite?”

“Month? I guess it depends on where we’re talking about. August here is the worst. Better pray your air conditioning works!”

Rey laughs, “or ice for the pool.” They near the center of the engine’s pile, starting to clean the pistons and small remainder in the casing as well. “What about, if you could do anything feasible or not, what would you want to do?”

“Well, I’m not sure. In everything I’ve done without you, it hasn’t been as satisfying as being with you, so it would have to be something we can both do.” 

“That’s sweet,” She laughs and lets that one go until he asks her what she thinks. “I don’t know, unrealistic things like flying without a plane, like a super hero, or swimming to the depths of every ocean, just to see what’s there,” She comes back from her dreamy state to see him shaking his head. “What?”

“If its like that then I’d want telekinesis.” He explains, “like you could be across the room and say I had this desire to have you in my arms right then and,” he makes a whooshing sound, “gotcha! Wouldn’t have to walk anywhere!”

Rey loses it, she’s bubbling with unbearable laughter, “would I just be flying off or dragged somewhere,” she can nearly contain herself asking the question. “I-I just see cartoon me going flying around or something before reaching you, like a popped balloon.” She says wiping the tears expelled from her giggles from her eyes. 

He shakes his head, “No I’d be careful with you...” the sound of his voice is sobering though she’s still trying to suppress her enjoyment in the thought. 

They talk for hours until every last piece is cleaned and ready to go back together. “Alright, starting backwards from the highest number.” This particular job was one she had to pay attention to being that, while all engines are pretty similar, she hasn’t yet done the NSX and would like to keep her pride. It takes them well into the morning to finish, and while she’s exhausted, she still feels the need to insert and secure it, remove the hook and turn it over. 

It’s 4am and the pressure in her ears from not sleeping is building into constant waves of yawns and stretching. Out of exhaustion she asks Ben start the engine. “Let it run for a bit, I’ll clean up here.” Rey starts to but her body doesn’t allow it. “ ok turn it off. I’ll handle this when I’m not exhausted...bed?”

Bed.

—— 

It’s well into the afternoon when they wake, which really isn’t usual for Rey but after finally getting the engine done, laying flat on a soft, firm bed with her Alpha felt better than getting up. Rey’s eyes were puffy from staying up so late, and no matter how she tried, waking up just didn’t seem to want to happen. Weighing staying with Ben over working wasn’t a hard decision but she got up anyway. As she made it out she was greeted with a cat call from Rose. 

‘Yeah that’s what it looks like, doesn’t it?’ Rey nods and calls Rose over. “We got the engine cleaned up and back together,” she said stifling a yawn. “I need to bang out the sides here, and then I need a fresh coat on her. I think it would be best if we strip the whole thing and start with a fresh coat, redo the accents and do a full gloss.” 

Rose nods. “Your heart is in the right place but the time that you need for curing isn’t. I can do the side panels over again and touch ups but the whole vehicle isn’t going to be ready in a day. The other cars and bikes were different.”

“Alright. I’m good with that. Let’s do just even touch ups and wait until after the secondary systems check to hit the gloss.” 

“You got it. Tell me when you’re ready. For now I’ll get lunch going. Connix and Poe went for cold cuts.”

“Mmm” She plays along knowing that’s one of Rose’s favorites. Rey grabs her headphones not wanting to wake Ben. She wanted some loud music to handle this project, so she could get into a groove, not just hear all of her hammer’s thuds slap against the wall. Next she grabs her belts and cleans her workspace. 

Pulling an assortment of rubber mallets out of the rolling tool cabinet, she laces one and the next in each finger of one hand before grabbing the last, largest one before slapping the drawer closed with her hip. Turning the headset up to an appropriate level before starting on the passenger side. Opening the door, it only takes a few strokes before it releases from the body. Holding it between her legs holding at the heel, she pounded out the inside into her gloves hand making sure the metal wasn’t too warped with each bang. It’s been about twenty minutes of fixing the groves in it. Thankfully there are no holes but the whole area is significant and needs to be ground down to the base. “I really don’t want to...” referring to resetting it before returning the space to the bare panel. It’s so uncomfortable to do that but she has no real choice. ‘It has to be right.’

Setting it up to be reattached, she starts to smell, then feel him behind her. Pulling her headphones from her, “good afternoon,” she teases knowing full well she’d slept well into it too. 

“Looks good. Can’t even tell.” 

“I still have the other side to do. Can you go get the headlight from Rose?” She doesn’t wait to put her music back on, and sets in the panel attachments before doing the same for the other side. 

Not thinking, Rey didn’t tell him where to find her. Too busy. This was going to take time and she needed to pay attention, not be distracted by her mate. The more the panel took the pounding, it splintered more shards of gloss and paint, which elicited a series of curses from Rey, quite louder than she expected due to the volume of her music. Almost like she wanted to hear herself over it. The paint peeled so much more than it should have, “fucking bullshit” she pounded out more not realizing her audience. The metal had been weak in certain spots by the driver’s side which would suggest he spun out or hit more people than just the bolder by the cliff. “Of course it did!” 

A rip occurs in it biting into her leg with each slap. “Hell of a day not to wear my coveralls.” Tossing her hammer, laying panel temporarily up against the car, she retrieved the mask, flint spark starter and torch, and her magnetic strip. She throws that down, rolling it out with her foot, stroking out a code to prime it before putting down her torch. Clenching the starter in her bite, and setting her helmet on, pulling the panel to the strip and fastening it within its magnetic grip, she grabs the torch. One sharp nod pulls the face shield down. With ease she flicks a spark, igniting the torch, twisting the strength in hard enough to create a thin but sturdy weld bonding it back together without having to worry about weakening the metal. Pulling the mask of she tosses that too with a loud clunk she clearly didn’t hear. 

Finishing the section she reattaches it to his door smaller sections on either side are quicker fixes being pulled back out with the vacuum seal. Next she grabs the buffer, changing the head to a courser material to peel the shared paint. It takes her another hour before she remembers she asked for the headlight, just happening to look up and see Ben, Rose, Han, Chewie who is finally downstairs, and a woman, maybe his wife? ‘How long have they been there?’ Removing her headphones, Rey squeaks, “hi?”

“You seemed to be in the zone, so I didn’t bother you.” Ben says honestly. 

“Next time, tell me.” She pulls at her face, “Sorry you had to hear all of that,” waving at her frustration then pulling her glove off releasing a blood filled pocket that looked similar to a deflated water ballon. “Great. Excuse me.” Rey bends to pick it up and mutters under her breath, “this is not how I thought this day was going to go...”

Ben sets the headlight down to tend to her while Rose offers sandwiches outside, “they’ll be out when they’re ready,” giving an apologetic look as she opened the door. 

“Never heard her swear like that before.” Han says trying to lighten the overall shock of it. 

“Ben’s car has been down too long and she’s been frustrated about it.”

“Ben’s car?” the woman looked shocked. “That was Ben’s car?”

Rose nodded. “She just finished pulling apart the engine and putting it back together last night. I mean she literally just woke up and started... hey... feeling better?”

Both Ben and Rey come outside towards the pool. Rey’s left hand had been wrapped in a white bandage as if she sprained her wrist, compliments of Ben’s medic training in the service. Rose was sure she could have been fine replacing bandaids all day but it’s not like she knew anything on the matter. She rolled her eyes at the thought. Rey reddened at the introduction Han gave, and why they were there. 

“This is my wife, Ben’s Mom, Leia. Ben said you were in need of a transport.” 

Rey’s face turned from apologetic to radiantly thankful, she just beamed hugging them and turning to Ben, making sure not to reopen the gash before sitting down with everyone for lunch. 

They discuss what’s going in, “What if you load the trucks with the bikes and then just drive up with us in what you’re looking to sell?”

“Well, I have a show car too. One I’m not selling.”

Poe popped up. “Wait, you’re not going to sell it?”

“No I like it too much.” 

He grimaced, “but that thing is amazing.”

“And the reason why I’m not.”

Poe grumbles taking another bite of his sandwich. 

“Well let’s see how much space we have. I don’t want it too tight in there in case we have to stop short.”

Everybody nods. 

Leia looks on to her son, taking in the way he is with this group. How carefree he looks. Like he did when he was a kid -well before his adolescence, that she really could have done without, certainly the reason for her natural grey look. While it was startling her that he had enough damage to the vehicle that it had to be torn apart and put back together she was happy for him. Maybe he need someone that was just as if not stronger than him. Leia pauses to considering Rey’s choice words just before, and how they could burn the town’s church to rubble. 

On the way to them, after Ben’s request, Han had explained her situation and that Ben had met her well before. Catching her up to speed took a toll on the couple. Arguments flared when Han explained that he had left Rey to her own business instead of having them adopt her. That started a fight. Snowballing it for a little over two hours out of the sixteen hour trip from upstate. Han just let her complain, overthinking everything she could, breaking the elements of the conversation down into dust, when he makes another near life-ending decision telling Leia to “calm down”. 

As a woman, regardless of presentation distinction, she doesn’t hear the words he said, she hears the tone used, and applies every nasty slang there is to apply to an idiot. It brings bile high into her throat building the acid rain she’s getting ready to spew at every life form. Promising the pain and suffering to all walks of life. All she had to do was silence herself before looking him dead in the eye before he apologized.

“Ok-maybe just go take a rest in the back?” 

That was dismissed too. 

She sat in silence until he apologized saying, “I really don’t want to do this with you. I’m sorry.”

‘That’s not an apology.’ Looking at him like he’s digging a bigger hole. It takes them five hours and one silent meal later to finally let it go. 

“It was the past. She ran. What am I going to do? Throw her back into some hell hole? Or give her a place she could be without being destroyed again? We couldn’t get involved she wouldn’t have stayed ours. And even then, Ben couldn’t have been with her because they would be siblings. I’ve -I’ve never seen her happier. Mated even.”

“Mated? With Ben?” The shock steeled her the rest of the trip. Happiness set in and was genuinely excited to meet Rey. 

“So who’s driving what?” Asks Han. She’s pulled from her day dream. 

“Where? On the way? Or at the presentation and races?” Rey asks. 

“All of it?”

Everyone listens intently. “It’s a toss up on the way up. I haven’t even thought about it. If we get the bikes and trucks in comfortably, then we have four cars. My show car the BRZ, the WRX STI, Mustang, and Audi Sport. There’s six of us plus both of you. Leia if you want to drive you’re welcome to one on the way up if you know how to drive stick.”

Leia scoffs like Rey just asked her if she knew how to blow her nose. “I’ll take the Audi.”

Han rolls his eyes like this is a bad idea. 

“I’m taking my car, which means, you guys can fight it out. You have two days before we have to go.” 

Rey explains the unveiling and how that usually goes. “Basically, they take it to be photographed for their magazine which is a big promotion for shops around the country, then you show it off...”

“With stunts!” Connix grins. It’s her favorite part. 

“Bikes are stunt oriented so yes there are points that need to be met in all functioning bikes, like low turns, wheelies for sports bikes -not the Cobra” she leans into Ben. Leia takes this in. He’s not even moody about it. “Then there’s the race.” It brings her back.

It’s out before she can stop it. “Ben’s not driving right?”

The glare prompts the explanation of the damage and Rey’s judgement that he’s fine behind the wheel, “just needs to work on drifting.” 

Her admission has him turned up almost angry she would say it in front of everyone. 

“It’s the truth. In fact, I was planning on giving you a lesson on it and letting you practice now that the engine is fine. And you have all this extra space.”

He doesn’t say a word. Similar to his mom’s spat with Han on the way over. Rey smells him changing and her cocky tone slaps him in the face, “I could always take one of your parents for systems check. Who wants to drift?” She wiggles her eyebrows. 

Han looks at her like she’s crazy and after a beat Connix gets up, “I want to go!” 

“Nu-no it’s my car!”

“It’s my garage, my test, my passenger. You can go second. Come-on Con.” 

He grabs her wrist, thumbing over it trying to control her with his gaze. 

“Not in front of your parents.” Placing a peck on his cheek before leaving with Connix. 

Everyone rises with Ben to walk to the front to watch. “Did you see that?” Whispers Leia to Han. “What type of omega can resist her alpha?” 

The engine purrs beautifully, grumbling as she gets close enough to let Connix wave before talking off. Rey’s grin widens as she doesn’t hear any other problems with it, now, yes now she could drift. Pulling through multiple shifts and dragging up the e-brake they basically float across the strip. 

Han’s mouth flies open, “Let her teach you kid. 

——

Later that evening after everyone had gone for the night, they start his training. Rey takes his phone and hooks up some of his loud music, drowning the ability to over think this. She sits in the passenger seat waiting for him to gun it but doesn’t. He’s taking her in. Taking the night into consideration turning down the music he asks, “why the evening? Why not when I can see?”

“Too much thought. This is about what you can feel. Not what you expect.” She turns up the music again, expecting him to go and he guns it. 

Good.

He tries several times completing each with a jerk every time, when Rey finally releases her seatbelt pushing his seat the centimeters back further than it was, climbing into his seat with him. Rey turns down the music so she can speak.

“Spread ‘em.” She wanted a firm place on his seat with her spine pushed up against his core. “Do exactly what do,” she shuffles her feet onto the pedals, signaling him to position his hands over hers. 

Ben can’t help his desire sitting like this with her. He groans, letting go of one of her hands, bringing it in to palm her torso. He slips it low, pulling her down further into the seat with him, grinding into her backside. “Rey.” He bucks his hips up to grind into her again. 

“This is going to be one of the hardest lessons of your life.” She teases, “come on, hands up on mine.”

Each movement she made would tug his body in some way. It began becoming easier to see what he was doing incorrectly. Rey figures it’s time for a game, his test so to speak. Taking her hands off of the wheel and shifter, it was now his turn. “Again,” she grinds into him with her rear. The car jerks stopping her and setting her seating further from him.

“What are—“

“Again...” she breathes leaning back into him. “This time don’t jerk the car.” 

Her precarious position has him wondering what she’s up to, trying to control his hammering pulse. “Ooohhh-kay....” she feels him shifting properly, just about to try again when she turns slightly, just enough to lick right underneath his jawline, prompting him to grind the clutch. “What are you doing!” He shouts at her.

Rey starts to laugh. “I’m distracting you.” 

Ben shoved it into park. “Yeah, you are! Why! We’re going ungodly speeds in a car and you’re teasing me!”

“You need to let go of that.” She prompts him to touch her, “drifting will become everything else if you stop letting it control you.” She gears up, then drops it into third, pulling the emergency break as she did the first time, enjoying Ben’s rise and fall of his hips as he ground into her. “It’s really not hard.” She tries not to pant, pushing it back into park and grabbing his thighs for support. Her brain spouts, ‘intermission!’

“What is it with you and vehicles?” He asks incredulously. “You pick the smallest spaces to get fucked in...”

She gasps as his tongue massages into her mating gland. “This worked so much better in my mind,” she gasps again, “I-oh..n-not in here..”

“Why?”

“Rose.” Rey couldn’t help but love the way his body felt right up against hers, feeling every muscle twitch under his clothes in response to her rocking back into him. “Alpha...Rose has to paint it. It can’t—oh- it can’t smell like us...”

“Where then?” 

“Your bed?” She can feel his body tremble with the thought. “We— we have to leave this here though. Drive the truck?” 

“Not going to make it...” Pulling her into him, clamps his left hand over the apex of her thigh, positioning her just so he can slide his considerable length over her backside. Each pass more needy than the last. He brushes his hand up her shirt, tugging her bra high enough over her breasts letting them hang free. Cupping one softly, rocking into her, baring his teeth over her gland, he mutters “what do you think of your little game now?”

Rey moans as his grip tightens. Her urgency builds, looking to claw at any part of him, failing, her left falling over his and her right clawing at his thigh, “I-love it!” She whines dying for him to touch her. 

Not the right response. “You like torturing me in tight places?” 

“Yes!” It’s obvious she does, ‘how doesn’t he know this yet?’ She bites her lip as he rolls her nipple into a perky little bud. He rolls it harder and harder until a noticeable amount of slick pools beneath her, enjoying their little dry humping session. 

“Why? He grits through his teeth, pinching and pulling at the bud. 

A loud moan escapes her, “I like to get your reaction.”

“My reaction? You tease me for my reaction?” His voice is low entertaining a bit of mirth from her answer. “That’s what you want?”

“Always.” He pulls down her shirt and up her breast bending over her pulling her nipple into his mouth, sucking it hard. Slick pours out of her in such a flood she’s sure she’s had a miniature orgasm. 

He hums in appreciation slipping both of his mitts down the waist band of her shorts and panties pulling them low enough to guide them off with his foot. He remembers how bad he wanted to be the seat in his car when she reveled in it earlier that month. Even the memory got him rigid, strangling groans of need over her breast, hungrily moving over her to latch to the other. His tongue flicks at her soft flesh, teeth rolling her nipple before he sucks in a bruise to it too. 

Rey wails with need, “Kylo!” Pitching her head back into his chest, her body begging to be filled. Clawing at the jersey fabric behind her she tries to gain hold of his to release him from his torture. “Alpha—please!” She whined

He pulls her high onto his stomach letting her juices spill down him as he’d removed his garments too. As comfortably as he can in his tiny sports car, he rolls his thighs up and out to the sides, giving her full access to slam into his sack. Oh how he loved it when her lips would bounce against them-God it did things to him. Ben being the tease he could be, purposely stroked her folds, eliciting her slick to cover him just enough to slip over her clit at a torturously slow pace. “Watch me stroke you, omega,” he grunts, “you like teasing me?” As much as he tries he can’t hold out slamming her down over his member. 

“Yes!” Rey screams, having to arch her body to bow outward, resting the back of her head on Ben’s shoulder while he drove up into her at a pace they both loved. 

Small breaths, barely understandable sounds, gurgled moans were pounded out of the both of them until Rey came without warning followed closely by her mate who marked her again over the same place. 

“Mine.”

“Yours.”

“Always.”

——-

The next few days seem to pass within the blink of an eye. Of course she remembered to clean and air out Ben’s car before asking Rose to set colors. Not doing so is lack of respect and she had the most for her sisters.

Rey’s crew is on the road early in the morning. Ben’s car had been finished and decided to drive up with Rey in it after her stunt a couple nights ago. The bikes went in, strapped in the back, along with the pick up, and Rey’s show car. Connix and Poe enjoyed the mustang, Finn and Rose-the WRX and Leia took the Audi. Best decision ever. Rey had no idea how much she wanted Leia’s respect, but felt she was receiving it by letting her be one of the ‘girls’. Han enjoyed some alone time too. Well, not really alone time, allowing Chewie to take to the roads with them. 

The trip is a lot faster than Rey remembers. They aren’t speeding, just enjoying their time together. Ben is forthcoming about his childhood and how crazy his parents were, all the trouble he’d get into for attention, how he was an ace in school but never showed up, how he used to be in a band -of course he was the lead guitarist, why his hair is so long, everything. He explained his time in the service, why he hates heights, how he got into weapons, how he jumped the ranks as fast as he did, nobly of course. It was the easiest seven hours of her life. Crossing the border made her skin twitch but she wanted this. Phaux’s was like walking into Santa’s workshop and being given one of his reindeer-to keep. Of course he noticed her change, holding her hand tighter as reassurance.

The girls blew up her phone as they approached the resort just outside of the flats sharing their excitement that they were here. 

She smirked. “Welcome to Phaux’s.”


	12. Wrapped Around Her Finger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and her crew set up for the week at Phaux’s Motor Show and things get underway.

Phaux’s setup was a glorified car show complete with sections for everyone who was invited to show pieces, some had enough space to show over twenty cars as if they were private dealerships. Others had smaller sections as they were buyers or purchasing on behalf of the people the represented similar to an auction. Off to the right we’re marketing opportunities, businesses that claimed they could have a photo shoot and magazine set and printed in the same day. Off to the right there were rigs offering services to anyone who purchased vehicles in the week ahead. There had been rows of them ready, branded newly as SNK which Rey knew stood for Snoke, the weirdest man in shipping. 

Rey takes time pointing all of this out as they come up to their section. Ben slows to a stop so Rey can get out guiding him and everyone in her crew to where she needed them to park. He looks on as she owns this, she walks with the determination that is hypnotizing. Cuing Leia first, on the outside, pulling her arms to her until turning her hand to get her to stop, flipping up a thumbs up letting her exit before guiding Finn in. Rey makes sure to thank her before guiding them in about eight feet from the Audi. Repeating the same for Connix, and then Ben. Finally, Han.

Han’s rig comes up to the same parking strategy as the cars so that when they’re unloaded they had enough space for the other vehicles too. Rey heads down with Han to retrieve her car, pulling it out far and wide parking behind the Audi. Of course everyone stares. Who wouldn’t? Poe pulls the truck out next, parking behind the WRX, releasing the bikes, Rose brings out the 250cc, Ben the Black Cobra, theres now a crowd around their section, certainly impressing Leia. The CRB is next pulled by Finn, and Connix pulls out the R6. Ben helps Han with the chairs they brought with them, and the folding table, last time they learned this was important for everything including eating. Food trucks lined the left side by the photographer’s booths. Once everything is pulled, Han closes up the back of the trailer, knowing they would have to pack up each night he kept it locked but ready. 

The crowd starts salivating over what Rey’s group is showing this year. A voice behind her rings loud and clear, “Inspired pieces this year,” Rey’s grin improves that much more. 

Behind her stood Sabine Wren, one of Rey’s artistic heroes. This year her hair was dyed blue fading to white tips within her bob. She was olive skinned with warm cinnamon brown eyes. Her thin figure has since begun to be curvy, another Omega that started as a twig, Rey had a chance right? She wore jersey shorts, a wide strapped tank top, bracelets with her kid’s names on them, enjoying her work boots just like Rey. 

“Sabine!” The girls shriek. 

Entertained by this, Sabine lunges into a hug, collecting all of them before stretching back, “it’s good to see—you—“

“What?” Rey asks.

“You’re?” Her eyes widen with happiness but also fear. Rey never settled. Sabine literally thought she had been raped. Based on the shit show last year, she certainly never thought Rey would ever be tamed. It was safe to say she wasn’t alone in this assessment. 

“Yes. Let me introduce you,” she bubbles.

Sabine’s eyes widen greatly almost choking on the air she’s sucked in for her response. “Oh my god you’re— you’re happily mated?!” Sabine hugs Rey tightly, “I’m so happy for you!!” Sabine is much louder than she realizes 

Han looks at Ben like that’s his cue to go say hello, standing comfortably next to the table. “Want to go take a look around?” Looking for a response from Leia who is enjoying watching on to Rey. 

“Sure.” Leia gets up, hooking her arm into Han’s. 

“Let the kids have their fun.” 

As they explore, Han notices rows between the setup suggesting space for two way traffic. There are police officers on hand regulating the event as it looks as though it could be far larger than what it is currently. Rey explained that Phaux’s could span a great section of the LA strip, due to its layout alone. He remembers her stories over the years and Gwen can get carried away, but it’s all business. She always overturns her profit from which she pours into each yearly event. From the showing currently, he’s sure Gwen will do just fine. 

Leia is taking in all of the impressive work that others have done, wondering what maybe leaving with one or two would cost them. The truck had the space, and she was sure they would sell out considering Rey’s talent. She tucked the thought away when Han regarded her, asking if she wanted something to eat. “Let’s see what they have,” nodding over to the food trucks. 

The melding of the food trucks is almost overwhelming, but leave it to Gwen to remember to put sweets in one section, and actual meals in another, separated of course, by the type of food they were selling. The woman knew how to organize her events to a “T”. Of course she did, she basically owns the company. No one ever sees the co-owner, Han isn’t even sure if he even exists. Phaux’s was known as the merging of two excellent owner’s last names: Phasma and Hux. Brendol Hux, had undergone some major procedure and since then hasn’t been out in the spotlight. Over the years they had seen less and less of him which begged the question of whether or not Gwen took over and kept everything the way it was for branding purposes. 

Leia still enjoying the view asked about checking in since the resort they would be staying at too.

“Let’s eat first and then we can handle the particulars.” Leia nods to this as they go looking for something that fit both of their tastes. Han made off with a turkey leg, and Leia enjoyed some amazing fish tacos. Fish and tacos were never an appealing concept, but Leia was intrigued by the sample, leaving her ordering their special which gave her three of their best tacos, a lemonade and mango salsa that made her head spin. She almost went back to pay for the recipe, just so she could make it at home. 

Meanwhile Finn and Poe decided to rent a tent. “It had to be done,” Poe assures Finn. “It’s too hot. And I’m not passing out from emissions.. Rey will understand.” 

“I think we learned that last time.” Finn looks up to see the spacing of the road behind them and Gwen’s next row being created. “It’s going to be big this year, huh?”

“Yeah, it looks like it.” Poe looks around, “where did they go?”

“Uh... with Sabine. Blue hair. Can’t miss her.” Finn says securing a pole. 

Poe looks up and realizes Ben’s gone too. “And if you can’t find her you can always look for the giant.”

Finn shares a laugh with him, setting up the rest of it. 

The girls and Ben follow Sabine to her section, being stopped and introducing Ben as Rey’s mate, to practically everyone, especially people she’s had issues with in the past, like Revan, who she always referred to as ‘Kevin’. She always thought of that guy as the biggest cocksucker, especially a few years back trying to advance on her during a race. He was yet another Alpha she shot at, piercing him right in the shoulder. She could have shot his penis and would have been completely okay with it, but he had it coming after the near claim he provided after slamming his bike into hers. Ben notices her change in regarding him. 

Her eyes fall to slits, and her body tightens as if she’s ready to fight, “Kevin,” she spits. 

He makes no sound, just looks through her at her mark. He’s angry she didn’t accept him, the clearly somewhat matched Ben’s looks, long black hair, angled, pronounced brow, rigid jawline, fuller beard, clearly muscular, but Rey did not want him. She couldn’t even smell him, like he’d been clearly a Beta, despite his stature. Of course she didn’t care about that until Ben, but it was something to cling to aside from her true hatred of this man and his tendencies. 

Ben pulls Rey close to his side realizing their glaring battle is rising in intensity. As if the ground would shatter and an apocalyptic battle would raise hell around them. Rey rolls her eyes back into her head reveling in his touch, knowing it pissed ‘Kevin’ off but better still it helped scent Rey, which would inevitably calm her rage. ‘Kevin’ pushes forward purposely glaring down at Rey, muttering her name as if to say hello. 

“Shove of Kevin” she growled back. 

Sabine laughs, “Theres the Rey I know. You were getting me nervous with all your sappy happy shit.”

Rey’s gears shifted, ready to reengage in a comfortable setting, holding tightly to Ben’s arm. “Yeah well, old habits...calm is not easy when you grew up as a feral beast.”

“Well, Revan isn’t the only one that’s here you know.” Sabine leads on speaking over her shoulder. It takes her a couple more spaces before they make it to her section. Sabine is known for her artistic installations but dabbles in modifications as a side gig. She has a showcase three car lengths long with custom styled rims, a station for her three dimensional printer for non-metal accessories to be made onsite, a generator to plug it into, and of course her computer set up to handle those in the moment requests. A couple of tables are set up displaying items made for customers already today, with their names on them as well as several iPads in cases bolted to the table with examples of her work, what people did with it, and her process. Finally, she had two show bikes, a black Magpul Ronin which looks awfully uncomfortable and not in Sabine’s usually loud painting style, ‘Must be Ezra’s’ and an MV Agusta F4CC. Rey shudders. It’s beautiful. While a solid color would be outstanding, Sabine really out did herself this time with her inlaid coloring, graffiti style is something to be adored. Rey extends her hand to it as if she’d be electrocuted just at the thought. 

“This is beautiful. Sabine,” Rey’s mouth begins to salivate, “this is outstanding. Are you riding today?”

“Nah tomorrow. Gwen changed it last minute. There are too many coming to organize it for arrival day,” she nods over her shoulder. “Did you guys check in yet? You’ll need the information for this evening. 

“Nah we should do that though, and eat. Did you?”

“Yeah, I have to wait for Ezra and everyone to get back anyway. I’ll see you later, yeah?”

Rey nods, pulling her in again for another hug. They collect Rose and Connix on the way. “So Kevin, huh?” Rose bubbles, “God that guy can’t get the fucking hint. How many times you have to shoot that guy? Am I right?” Ben decides to ask later due to how hostile she became.

There’s a walk to the hotel and the girls basically fill him in which is a surprise that they aid him in this in front of Rey. They also help him understand that there were other threats that she would deflect, “it really was a sight to see, remember there was some guy that wanted to represent you as a UFC fighter.” Rose can’t stop herself.

“Yeah, yeah... I’m not into unprovoked cat fights though and fighting isn’t for a trophy so that was a big no.”

Ben didn’t care about this though, he wanted names and faces to associate them too. He was learning the enemy, using standard tactics to now keep Rey safe, instead of the country. Every detail was archived, tensing at stories, he had only wished he’d been around for. Of the assholes he would have to be on the look out for, we’re Jacob Hutt, Derek Maul, and some guy that only goes by Tarkin. Rey admits to possibly being a part of that, starting a rumor that his parents named him after the sound of a fart. 

“Nah he had that coming. You couldn’t have been the only one that thought it though.” Rose laughs. 

Connix has been pretty quiet considering she does like a good roast. She’s been taking in the layout too. She makes notes about who is there, how many, and behaviors, where the exits are, counting the cops in attendance, noticing shifts in the Windows by the Windu Resort that is supporting Phaux’s guests. Everything. She has a past too which she hasn’t been forthcoming about. In fact, the girls are the only ones that know, Rose more than Rey. 

The resort is as tall as it is wide with several smaller buildings housing a restaurant, spa, and pool, which for these numbers isn’t going to cut it. The Windu as a whole has a rustic, outdoorsy feel, apt considering its chosen whereabouts. Although the surroundings seem desolate, the design and interior are anything but. Rough sandstone pillars hold the building up on stilts of sorts, the ceilings are pitched and painted white, in the lobby and communal areas, which has Ben wonder on an architectural level, why they would allow for such a gap between the obvious pitch and the technical first floor. It didn’t, to him, seem like a sound usage of space or material, but what did he know. In the center a large round fan with a light in the center and blades resembled large wooden spoons. There were also lights inlaid into the ceiling at a lower, more level section that would provide the light necessary for evening hours. He would later find out these were used so that stargazers could enjoy less light and more of the scenery at night. What he couldn’t understand was why everything was white, that wasn’t obviously stone, and why there weren’t windows. The space seemed to have everything else, including plant life growing in the gardens outside seemed the same as my other place.

On the left there were bathrooms that would serve the general public, and elevators that separated the women’s from the men’s, and on the right was the check in desk that Rey walked over to nodding at the rest of them to go sit. Even Ben went, as he knew this was something she wanted to do herself. 

The Windu Resort reminds Ben of the rustic design of, oddly enough, of his parents place, as if his life has recently been calling him back. He dismisses it, finding his parents relaxing around a large sandstone slab of a table in hand made stick woven chairs.

“Some place.” Han stands offering his chair to one of the girls. A real gentleman move, but Rose nods at him looking to press on and enjoy the view while Connix opts for the elevator. 

“Where is she—-“ Ben starts to ask and is stopped by Rose. Rose puts her hand up and then down telling him to drop it. The three of them look around at each other and back to Rose who is set on a firm line not to answer that question or allow it to be spoken of. Ben remembered this the night they met. While she didn’t have Rey’s pistol, she wasn’t any less intimidating, even for a little Beta. As forthcoming as they were, they weren’t anymore. Ben could almost sense trouble coming from this but did not need the fight Rose could bare. Not here.

Han’s eyes widened and looked around again to distract from the obvious awkwardness that rippled through the four of them, until Rey came up to them chipper as ever handing them their room cards and folders complementary of Phaux’s show. 

“It’s like Gwen’s goodie bag.” She raises an eyebrow as if she just missed something. “What?” She looks at Rose, “Did Con ride the elevator?”

“Yeah.”

“Ok she’s on the roof then I bet. We best get the guys and get settled.” Her stomach grumbles, “and eat!”

“I’ll call ‘em.” Rose starts to punch in Finns number. 

“Ok, we still have to put the boots on the cars though and the bikes away if we’re all heading in.” Rose stops a beat and says something to the extent of going in waves, and that it’s really too early to turn in. “Well we should still give them the chance to wash up or sleep if they want. I know Poe can be quite theatrical when he’s tired.” They share a giggle. 

Holding the phone to her ear Rose suggests they get food on the way and bring it to them. 

“We’re going to turn in for a while, kids. Let us know when you’re up and where to meet you to get the best view, ok?” Han asks. Rey hugs him and then Leia, thanking them again for helping them get there before leaving to enjoy what the evening had to offer. 

———

The first night at Gwen’s event started off with her on a platform, thanking all that were in attendance. Upon her platform were gigantic plasma tv screens that made certain that at least half of the participants could see her. The event did honestly grow in size well past her original expectations. Gwen welcomed all in attendance, giving each auto group, designing firm, shipping carrier, everyone of importance like sponsors, and eventually panning to collectors of all kinds in a section in the front showing them briefly on the screens behind her. “This is by far the largest event we have ever pulled together and I thank you all for being a part of Phaux’s Motor Show!”

Gwen is unmistakably British, but her shop is in America so she makes absolutely sure she has the National Anthem play, the Blue Angels fly over just as the sun has kissed the land for the last time that day she allows illegal street racers to take the strip well off to the east so as not to disrupt both the lingering people at the venue or those trying to sleep at the hotel. Behind her stage, about a half mile to the north, fireworks were set and ready to be fired off for those not off driving.

Thundering speaker systems fought each other for the masses attention. Connix perks up, “Babe?” addressing Rey, who is comfortably cozying up to Ben, “Take me for a ride?” Poe drops his soda in his lap. Maybe it’s the base pulsing through the air from all of the different sections but it turns out Connix has been dying for a ride in her BRZ.

Rey, who is really enjoying Ben stroking at her lower back, watching the fireworks together, won’t deny Connix. She licks his gland before standing, sashaying back to the car, pulling her keys from her pocket and jingling them suggestively. She winks at her mate knowing it does things to him. Connix squeals and runs to the passengers side. Rose is too busy enjoying Finn to care. Ben watches on as she lowers into her car, starting it with a throaty roar, joining the pounding music with her own. He hurried to her asking for the Audi’s keys when she told him “its lights only. Con’s turn first,” she manages before leaning an urgent kiss into his lips, “I’ll come back for you.”

He backs up so she can close the door. He watches how carefully she takes the road behind them. Rey purses her lips pressing a kiss in the air to him. “The freeing tension of the place in his presence and the headiness of this particular car show is going to turn me into an insatiable fuck.” She basically yells to Connix. 

Connix cackles breathlessly. 

Poe pats Ben on the back, “let’s go man, I can’t wait to see that thing light up! Best spot is up the road. Grab a bike.” They remove clamps, grab keys and he follows Poe a couple miles out. Ben tries out the CRB and Poe takes the Cobra wanting to be comfortable while watching the show.

Waves of cars are among them all aware of the same unspoken law to the races. No one leaves their cars as they pull up to the strip. The same woman throws down the ‘flag’ if they could even call it that. Groups go out four at a time before peeling off well into the distance, circling off and showing a side view of their handiwork before coming in for another possible run. The race don’t prove anything more than the fact that the drivers came to play. Poe is the first of the two to spot them two heats out from racing. 

“Hey Poe.” A guys voice startles him, from desperately watching on as if he’s going to miss it.

“No shit! Hey Ezra! Kanan! No shot! It’s good to see you!” Ben shifts awkwardly learning that Ezra must be looking for Rey. Poe reaches out to Ben introducing them. “This is Ben, he’s newer to our family.”

Ezra tries to hide a groan of sorts always kind of having a feeling Finn was bi. Of course he was okay with this- it was t like he felt uncomfortable by it in the least- his mantra was ‘you be you’ learning from his travels that his way wasn’t the only way. “Well, congratulations I suppose are in order.”

Sabine comes up and smacks him in the back of the head. “Not that... Rey is...”

“Seeing someone? Him... no...” he presses out in a deeper sounding voice. 

Ben stands straighter than usual offering his hand to shake it. “I’m her mate.” He doesn’t know what to expect from Ezra. Whether or not he was hoping for her attention too or if there was something else he should be wondering.

“Kanan get this man a beer!”

The roar of revved engines break them from their conversation. Not Rey yet. Good. The guys have more time to bond over Rey’s past until Ezra asks about Finn. “Is he here?”

Poe flips his hair back towards them, “Yeah with Rose.”

“N-e-v-e-r-m-i-n-d” his voice cracks. 

A few more conversations later and Rey is up. “Why is only the undercarriage lit?” Poe feels like someone else would have an answer but doesn’t. 

Another thunderous roar of revving engines and the slinking of the starter woman to the ground sends them flying up the strip. Rey pulls away immediately, flashing a smirk to Connix before turning her body lights on. 

“There! Oh my God!” It seriously sounds like Poe is going to spill in his pants, but it seems to not just be him. The crowd seems to quiet starring at the BRZ, even the drivers seem to slow taking in the variation of color streaking through the dark. 

Rey burns through the track, promising to follow the rules and not drift even though it seems like the right time to do it. The side view of her ‘Rey of Light’ is hypnotizing, Poe lets out a grunt. “She’s got this -whole place-“ He nods to the crowd, “wrapped around her finger. Especially now.”


	13. A Week At Phaux’s

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and her family bond experiencing Phaux’s Motor Show all week long.

On their return, a mob forms making it hard for them to pass so they lower the music low enough to hear each other. 

“This is some ride Rey.” She calls Poe to tell him to pack in the bikes, “it’s late, and I hear you’re one of the first thirty to be photographed tomorrow. Judging by the crowd, you’re going to need the sleep.” She chuckles... “if you get sleep that is,” jerking her head in a side nod realizing Ben watching on.

“That’s what they make coffee for!” She realizes her widening grin as she takes in his focused look.

Connix starts up again as they pull through the makeshift alleyway back to their lot, “that reminds me,” She wiggles her eyebrows, “when are you going to?”

She doesn’t have to finish, “it depends on position,” she laughs, “I can’t exactly bite him when he’s behind me.”

“Oh! So he’s one of those?” Con asks humorously. She can’t help but roll a laughter through her lungs. 

“He seems to? I suppose. Haven’t really thought about it. But I’ve also been initiating in the smallest of spaces he claims.” She pulls in, “probably true. I haven’t been-you know...just been letting it happen.”

“Baby steps.”

“Sex is hardly a baby step, Con.”

“Big baby steps then. Don’t forget yourself in the mix, whatever on the type you are,” She waves it off, “your body is yours, take what you want.”

Rey grins and shakes her head. “What would I do with out this Con?”

“Without what?”

“Our sisterhood? Without what?....really?” She pushed Connix’s shoulder playfully. Turning off the engine and opening the door, she’s startled by Ben holding the door open for her.

“I thought I was next...”

Connix raises her eyebrows suggestively once more leaving the passengers side.

“You are,” She purrs, lofting herself from the seat. “Bed?”

He eyes her hungrily, “Yes.”

——-

The next morning Rey looks over her handiwork as he sleeps beneath her. There was no way she felt she could actually break his skin. He just felt like he was made of steel -just too strong to feel any weakness, not even a chance at cracking under her pressure. Incredulously, Rey’s pride poured out of her seeing her mark’s depth among the rest of his war torn body. Licking over him he wakes ready to have her again. 

This change-finalizes them as the mated couple they are. They may as well bare wedding bands too. Mates were forever. And now everyone knew who he belonged to. 

She pulls her fingers through his hair, grinning a sweet morning kiss into him, inhaling his scent. “Good morning, love.”  
He’s truly lovely this morning for not sleeping much the night before. “Unveiling is in an hour, our luck we’ll be first.” 

Ben is blown away by her beauty this morning. Maybe it’s the testosterone surging through him reminding how she glows, hovering over him. Maybe it’s because he was claimed. Maybe it’s just what life is now. The reincarnated newness of how it really should be, how they are with each other, when she says it, it solidifies this moment. ‘Love’ that’s what this is. She’s said it before but, that’s what this is. It has to be. 

“Come on,” She pats his chest, “try getting ready- or sitting up. That’s a good start...” she pushes off of him ready for a shower but doesn’t invite him. Rey gives herself an even five minute shower. He doesn’t expect her to be so fast but she is all business. 

The first part of the unveiling is a photo shoot of the vehicle, and then of the rider with it, finally of it in use. Rey hears Ben’s phone ringing over and over in the next room, having her wonder what he’s doing so she pokes her head out the bathroom door. Push-ups. Yes that makes so much sense in the morning. She cocks her brow before smiling and going back to fixing up her hair. She pulls up her hair in three tight buns, while still waterlogged so they curl tightly as they dry. Tendrils that don’t fit, curl on their own as they dry. Unconcerned, she pushes them up loosely over her ear. Toweling off the remainder of the water and wrapping herself in it before moving back into the bedroom to gather today’s clothes, not a far cry from what she usually wears though. Today is black on black. Sporting Connix’s half length black marbled leather jacket. It had a sheen to it that would go well with the bike she said. Ben had something for that too but hadn’t opened his mouth about it until she polled socks and her riding boots out of the bag. 

“Wait on those ok?” He said nodding to her boots, “wear the other ones down ok? I have something in the car for you, special for this? Ok?”

What is she going to say, no? Shaking her head Rey pulls her work boots. 

He’s second to the shower, and out similar in time to her. Rey’s put on some eyeliner, mascara and a red wine stained glossy lipstick, that, yep... she’s going to have to reapply. Ben can’t help himself. Makeup wasn’t her jam but fuck if she’s going to wear it it was going to destroy him. Suddenly he knew why those other pricks couldn’t stop chasing her. If she looked like this in a simple style, Goddamnit if she looked like this then. He breaks their shared passion. Grunting the word “later,” as he stalked off to get dressed. 

——-

“That’s a look,” Finn teases Rey in he half done outfit. 

“Ha, Ha. I was told to wait.” Peering at Ben out the side of her eye. 

“Breakfast is by the lot. Got you an egg and cheese burrito. Didn’t know what Ben likes so you guys got the same thing. Didn’t think to ask your mom. Sorry.” Finn shrugged. 

“Thanks Finn.” She shoved into him with her shoulder. “Excited?”

“Honestly, we’ve had a constant crowd casing the lot and already had offers on the Mustang from a few kids... and well the BRZ - did you give a pre-show?” His voice is higher than normal outing that question. 

“IIII may have?” Rey shrugs up her shoulders. 

“That explains it.”

“Explains what?”

“That.” There is literally people clogging the alley between their lot and traffic moving in and out of the area. “There may as well be a ‘offer submission’ box next to it.”

“Or a ‘custom orders’ box” she teases. Lacing her fingers with Ben’s just before making it to their section, she leans into him, almost pleading for his scent. As if she knew she would need him closer than ever for this round. Of course Leia spies them as Ben lovingly bestowed a languidly pressured lick over both of her glands. Rey’s eyes close as she revels in his care before she spies her mark on him. 

‘It must be true then,’ she thinks. ‘Good.’ Chewie whines at her for her breakfast as he’s done to everyone this morning. Leia, having a weakness for puppy eyes, offers pieces of her sausage endings to him. “Maybe we should find a grocery store in town for supplies for Chewie?” They has brought his bed, now upstairs, and dishes also in their room, had been a reminder of what they lacked outside. “Before it gets too hot?” 

Ben looks at the cars as if to say, ‘in what do you think Chewie should sit?’

Poe tells her to take the truck, “should you need to haul anything, you’ll have the room to. Finn?” Finn grabs the keys from his pocket and tossed it over. “It’s got cloth seats so don’t worry if Chewie wants to ride with.” He offers a side smile. 

Han doesn’t offer to go. Shopping with Leia is like asking to be neutered. He’s already spent enough time being argued with that he’d rather just not. “Anyone want to go?” There’s a long pause. “Finn!” He freezes. “You look like you’re a guy that can appreciate good taste,” judging from his crisp white polo, brand new Levi’s blue jeans, and white Adidas brand shoes. He clearly looked like he was meant to be in a clothing commercial rather than at a car show. 

“Wh-um... What?”

“Why don’t you take Leia shopping?” He offers a thumb towards the truck mouthing ‘please?’

Finn let’s out a sigh, rolling his head towards his shoulder. ‘You owe me  
Solo.’ Is mouthed back. “Yeah,” his voice cracks, “it’s still early, we should be back before the bikes are done.”

“Oh yeah you should be done well before that...” He looks down at Poe sitting back enjoying his burrito. 

“Bring back a little grill, and all the fixings so we can do our own thing,” says Poe.

“Finn?” Rey catches what’s going on. “Where are you going?”

Finn looks like he’s just been saved. “Uhm I’m going to take Leia shopping?” He looks like he wants out of it. 

“Oh. Ok. If you don’t mind can you pick up a cooler and drinks?” She pulls her wallet from her side and offers a credit card.”

“That won’t be necessary,” says Leia leaning out the drivers side. “Coming Finn?”

“Solo...” He can’t even breathe let alone smile, and yet he does slink behind the tailgate to flip everyone off before going shopping. ‘Shopping? Really?’ Clothes and apparel was one thing, he could easily handle that online and never step foot in a store. But actually going to see stuff and be harassed by sales people, that always did him in. 

As he gets in, Chewie barks startling him from his thought. “Don’t worry, I’m not that bad.” Leia speaks as if she heard his thoughts. Realizing Finn’s shock, “you forget, “I’m a mom. I know everything.”

——-

It’s just about time for Rey to show her bikes. The girls are dressed to their comfort for riding. Connix has her long blonde hair down. She likes to braid it for riding but prefers waiting until after pictures to fuss with it. She’s wearing a tight grey colored halter top that flows into lace just below her chest, white washed, frayed jeans tucked into black knee high boots with a steel toe. Metal bracelets for show and her Aviators. Connix isn’t really one for makeup but sports the same eyeliner and mascara Rey does, as well as a blush pink gloss. Rose doesn’t dress up for this, shes all just fine in her coveralls but Rey tells her to try something besides that. 

Fine. 

She’s happy in her tan cargo pants, but that’s a no to. 

Fine. Fine. Fine.

Red v-neck t-shirt, dark wash jeggins, and black long leather boots with a wide head, annnd were good. Rose isn’t one to enjoy. Getting dressed up or fussed over. None of them truly are but it’s the one time of year Rey makes them try. It’s like Ben’s family when they were younger, dressing for any holiday event. Every fit that was pitched was for a reason. The clothes his mom would pick out would itch, or have to be ironed, or he couldn’t sit in or it would crinkle. God if it was crinkled before seeing whoever they were having over. It didn’t help that those days were just the l-o-n-g-e-s-t. 

The good news for the girls was that it was set up properly to take on multiple entries at the same time. Multiple photographers meant sessions would clean up faster than others.

Right before they went Ben pulled a box from the his trunk prompting Rey to open it. She looks at him sideways, sits down in a folding chair and does. “Ben.” Opening it her nose is struck with the heady smell of leather-real leather. She finds the wide heel of a boot through the flapping tissue paper. Tracing the tips of her fingers under the paper, along the ridge of the boot’s ridges, she gasps when the paper is fully removed, “these are for me?” 

A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. 

“They’re beautiful! Ben? When did you-“ he interrupts her with a kiss. 

“Try them on.” He looks like a little boy 

Pulling one from the box, she sets it to the side of her right leg noticing the stitch work. They’re black, of course, and some how reminds her of his hair. The zipper runs up the inner calf, while a beautifully layered ribbing design, subtly raised, decorates the structure of the boots length. The layers are embedded in an angled V point just above the ankle going on to a very femininely narrow sole. The heal while a little more elevated than she’s used to, are only a couple inches off the ground. As she slinks out of her boots into these, her calves are met with the pleasurable sensation of tanned hide on her skin, training her lips to encircle a perfect O in appreciation. Rey slips the next one on, clearly about ready to cry. This is the nicest thing anyone, aside from the bed-yes it’s a fact, she loves the bed. But these boots were her new favorite thing, if she’s not working or in the pool she’s wearing these- it’s been decided! “Thank you!” Rey whispers, as it’s all she can release before wrapping her arms around him. “I love them,” she feels him draw her in. In his closeness she buries her head into his neck, suckling at her bite, nuzzling in to him. 

This public display has Han clearing his throat. Moving back to being under the tent, so as not to see any of that, he hears her ask Ben if he’s ready. 

“It’s time then.” The girls being pros at this weave their arm through their helmets instead of wearing them, all lift their kickstands, starting their engines, and get moving with Ben in tow. 

The photo shoot is exactly that. There are required sections that each of them go to for photographing the bike mainly, which takes them at just about any angle. Then posing which noticeably is a hard pass for Rey. She has some fussy male beta trying to touch and assess her, moving her jacket up over her claim marks which makes her seize it. “Do NOT cover my mark.” She growls. 

Rose, who is next to her balks not expecting her to grab him. “If you want to keep that hand, you best not touch her.”

The man spits a few lazy threats, mostly how he simply c-a-n-t work like this anymore! The apprentice started taking shots of Rey as she removed her jacket, pulled a piece of gum, unwrapping it and tossing it in her mouth before crumbling the foil in a ball while pulling her hair free. The action is quite beautiful as Rey removes herself from the irritation. 

Rey and the R6 move to the next section. Riding shots. These were taken with the aid of other drivers and several drones. Within the time of day with the sun now at high noon, the ground seemed to shimmer like she was riding on water. The mirror effect played greatly with the chrome refinished look making her look like she was floating. 

Gwen who had finally broken away from meeting with sponsors had the chance to see this in action. “Why aren’t you photographing this from here?” She asked with disbelief. The shock of all of it was enough to stun them in place, having Phasma herself taking the shots. “Pay attention when they’re out there. This will be the only opportunity- follow them to the pits,” she barked, “don’t expect the drones to get still shots.” 

The others had left while she was arguing and of course the heart throb he is left silence in his wake as he shrugged his shirt back on. His claim was obvious in the pictures, but it didn’t seem to matter like it did for Rey. It had gone well with his scars that didn’t register to him as there anymore. He had found his mate, he knew she didn’t see them the way he did. They weren’t the only things in his life he had focused on. He had her and that was all that would ever matter. 

Phaux’s had a gravel ramp system set up over night. Gravel. Gwen always picked it due to being able to haul it away without serious damage or permanently altering the landscape. Being that it was gravel she had it marked in bright green spray paint were the tops of the piles were so that it could easily be selected and edited before printing but claimed it was for the riders so they weren’t blinded upon taking off landing. 

Other riders were finishing up when Ben pulls up by Rey. He looks truly concerned. Rey flips up her visor, brushing his hair behind his ear, her nails tracing ever so softly over his skin, around his ear, and down his neck over his mark. “I’m not the one you should be worried about.” She nods up at Rose and says no more. Rey and Connix go through their rounds with jumps, gaining air, doing tail whips, rotating, and handling wheelies, when it’s Rose’s turn. 

‘Rose is small. Smaller than them. How-?’ Rose is off in a flash handling the CRB as if it were a tiny dirt bike. She hits the first ramp with a simple tail whip, coming down like a feather, where the girls came down hard. Speeding off to a mound further from her she’s high enough to do a backflip and fucking does, rounding the next pulling out a ‘switchblade’ he hears an onlooker say as Rey makes her way back to his side. “She’s the reason we know what we’re doing.”

Connix stops dead in her tracks to watch the rest of Rose’s run in awe. “Finn is going to kill her when this comes out. Don’t say a word,” She stops enjoying the sight of her ‘cliffhanger’ “you’d think she was a professional rider...”

Ben questions why he can’t talk about this and Connix stops him, mouthing, ‘they’re trying.’ Of course his mind isn’t there, yet...maybe ever, and does not know what that means at all. So he innocently asks loudly, “what?” 

Connix tries again. 

Still no idea. 

“They’re trying to get pregnant okay?!”

“They’re What?! And she’s out there?!Doing that?!” Betas don’t usually carry at all, so Ben’s reaction isn’t exactly normal. Is it possible he didn’t know she was one? I mean they all carried themselves some how in the same strength as Rey. How didn’t he know they weren’t all but clearly not of Rey’s potency? 

“We’re Beta’s. She’s got the slimmest chance - no need for birth control here.” She tries to hide the frustration of being sterile. “Plenty of drugs for us though, options to handle a pregnancy. I don’t think they’re there yet though. Finn seems to think it’s all on him. Like the Alpha should just be strong enough to produce for her, but it’s not like that. Just like they think they can’t knot us.” She says sharply. 

Ben tries to think of a happy place while the girls continue their conversation. If he doesn’t he literally think he might die. Perfect title in the obituaries: ‘Solo Dies Of Heart Arrack from Embarrassment’. Yes. Not an honorable way to go- at all. 

“They can. Poe has.”

That’s it. He puts his head down in his hands. 

Rose finishes and comes up to them assessing Ben. “You look sick.” Rose look to the girls offering a thumb in his direction and nodding her head that way too, “Is he ok?”

Rey look over, realizing their open conversation is destroying him. With a grin she says, “sex talk—for an Alpha that’s good at it, you’d think he’d be ok with words,” She nudges his leg with hers.

Connix chokes on her spit and they all have a little laugh.

——

Finn has been gone for way too long so Rose gives him a call. He picks up on the first ring.

“Hello?” He Asks almost desperately. 

“Finn? Are you ok?” 

“Yes.. no...” he pauses sounding like he’s trying to take it outside. “I’ll just be a minute...” returning to Rose sighing heavily before trying to speak. “I have been shopping in a g-r-o-c-e-r-y —-s-t-o-r-e for four hours!” He shouts a whisper.

“Where is Chewie?”

“With Leia. I’m sure just as pissed as I am.”

“What?”

“She is shopping with him, talking to everyone, touching everything like food is different in every isle- I mean I know it is but— like as if it’s from the moon!” He shouts another whisper. 

“Oh. Um. We finished the motorcycles. Just watching everyone else. Do you want me to meet up with you?”

He groans. “Wait... you’re done?”

“Yeah?” 

He grumbles again. 

“They had more photographers this round. We’re just relaxing now. I’m going to get changed.”

“Ugh I have to go back in - I can only hope we’re almost done.”

“Ok text me for your sanity, but be respectful- I think she likes you.” She hears him chuckle.

“Ok, love you.”

“Love you too.”

Leia breaks him from his moment, and decides to be done. That last place she wants to go is the gas station for tanks, since she wasn’t positive she saw them in the truck. Pulling up to the register she starts unloading two coolers, one for meat for grilling and cold cuts, another for drinks, an 18” round grill, grill utensils, charcoal to last the week, dog dishes for Chewie, a rawhide, and a few toys to keep him entertained, enough food for the day but it clearly looked like it was just too much, drinks couldn’t go bad in the heat so she made sure she had enough to offer out even if she didn’t. Plenty of water, Gatorade, sodas and wine coolers for her. She also picked up cups, paper plates and plastic utensils. They purchased ice in the front too.

Leia knew what she was doing, she just wanted to see just how far she could push Finn. Loading their lot in to the carts, Leia thanked him for being so patient, making him squirm just a bit. 

“Leia,” he tries.

“I know.” She smiles, “mom” she points at herself, “remember?”

He shakes his head, “Yeah...”

On their return, Poe helps them unload. Leia owns the show telling them where everything goes white Finn heads back to the resort finding Rose snuggled in, in their room. He’s tempted to wake her but decides against it, toeing out of his sneakers and crawling up behind her for a much needed nap too.

Back at the lot Leia finished everything, noticing Finn’s absence. ‘Maybe I pushed him too far. He’ll get over it.’ She told herself, just as She had done with Ben throughout his childhood. 

Han, ready for any other conversation except for, ‘how much did you spend,’ waits for anyone else to break the silence. Poe asks Connix if she knows what happens next, and she tells them this is it all day, “you just enjoy the bike section today, there’s races later if you want to participate, but I think Rey said something about watching a movie or something later. They’ll have screens up in the back of the Windu for that.”

“Do you know what’s showing?” 

“No idea.”

“Sounds perfect.” 

“I think that’s why Rose is napping because it obviously will be late. I think she’s hoping for a scary one. Not sure how she watches that shit.” She shrugs leaning back in a soft canopy chair. “These are nice!” She shifts side to side showing appreciation. 

“Tomorrow is the auction. That’s in alphabetical order though so pretty much free until the evening.” Rey situates herself close to Ben.

“Yes, exactly it.” Gwen shows up out of nowhere, she offers a welcoming hello to everyone before asking Rey for her time. Instinctively she pulls Ben with her. Another mental check for Leia goes off in her mind. Gwen assesses it too but let’s her knowing a mated pair best not be separated. They take a walk down the alleyway speaking of the plans she has for her and how impressed she is over all with her work, as they reached a secluded place. “Thank you for heeding my warning about Armitage. The paperwork was submitted to my by way of his father. He is here mind you. But the itinerary in your folder is there so you know when to come forward for events where he will not be during your time, immediately before or after.” The police presence is here for everyone’s safety and is necessary due to the overall size. If you feel like you need their assistance, Officer Daniels is undercover at the end of your alleyway, the blonde. Gwen pinched an item in her hand signaling the nod of the officer to let him acknowledge them. The officers will be different cycling through the day as their shifts end so there will be relapse time of coverage, but please know you’re safe here.” 

They both thank her and appreciate her time addressing the matter. 

“If you find you need anything, you have my number.” She said before letting them back to their group. 

On their return, they make sure the information is shared. Of course his parents are concerned with the news but they are talked off their ledge getting everyone ready for a relaxing evening.

——

Auction Day for Motorcycles comes and goes. All bikes sell and well. The room was a buzz with offers landing in solid cost ranges of small sedans, which is impressive. Only one of the buyers was ready to leave that night, so the Cobra was set up to go home with them that evening. Rey has her family take a picture with the buyer, this is important to her. Han and Leia stand back out of the picture until she stops the picture asking them to join. 

They try to protest it when Rey says, “you’re part of our family aren’t you?” They can’t resist it now. Ben feels a pat at his back from his mother. They all smile in unison, and break afterward. 

The rest are to stay with tags until the end of the show, it’s Gwen’s policy so that the items aren’t resold under the new owner out of respect to the creator, so each night they pack them and their lot’s items within the truck. 

The next few days were showing vehicles and of course they were of the last, which was fine because it was more fun to be with her family, talking, enjoying Ben, hearing about his childhood, learning more about his parents. Living. People call this living. In turn she explains how they met, and it’s safe to say Leia is proud of the man she brought up. Han too was impressed with him. 

By the time they were ready to show the cars she thought maybe it would be best to go as couples. Finn and rose stuck with theirs since he had worked on it. Rey allowed Connix to drive her car with Poe- she could almost see him almost collapse that this was allowed. “I’d like Ben to drive me in the Mustang... which leaves the Audi. I’d be honored if you would represent that. Either driver, but it’s yours if you’d like to participate. 

Han grins. “I’ll take it this time.” Leia gapes at him. “Oh don’t start. You got it for seven hours.” Leia scoffs at him as they all get ready to move. Thankfully the bikes hadn’t been pulled from the transport, leaving Rey’s truck and Ben’s NSX in the lot as the left over vehicles. 

Connix paraded them in line out to the designated show space similar set to the motorcycles shoot. This time models were not required, which made them cycle through faster. On to the driving section for straight aways. Once that was over, Rey was contacted to do the secondary shots at night with the other boosters that added undercarriage lights in the next three hours. Finally the handling, a race handling the markers a straight away, and of course a solid drift. 

Ben looks at her when it’s their turn as if to switch. She pulls her seatbelt off leaning over the console, brushing his hair out of his face, “if you can handle me- this is nothing.” She pulls him in laying one into him. Connix on her left and Finn on her right. It seems Poe talked her into being the passenger, gaining a cat call out the window from her. Finn put his hand over the window as if to block the site turning and nodding at Han. 

They were to go one at a time for this, Poe now, leading. Rey expects Ben to go last, waving everyone on before them. “It’s just us, Kylo,” she purrs. “Go.” He does And without flaw. Even the drift was perfect. “I knew you could do it..” 

He smiles at her his eyes dark, hooded with need. “Are we done?” She shakes her head, dying to be. 

Three hours pass and she offers her ride to Rose and Connix teaching them how to light the outer glow. Then the inner, when Rose asks, “sure you don’t want to?” 

Rey assures them they should do this, with a smile, “Go scorch the night.” A yawn escapes her. 

Nothing comes close to hers, insane offers come in but she got no desire to part with it. She assures them that work can be done to mimic it or make something new. Excited to see it own the night, she wells up with tears. “It really is beautiful.”

“Like you,” Ben adds sappily coaxing her to lean into him. When her head touches his solid, massive peck, exhaustion settles in. He can almost feel how weak she is. 

“Kylo,” She sloshing the battle to stay awake. “Take me to bed?”

Finn and Poe wave them off, that they would be able to handle this alone. 

He kisses her temple, picking her up, having her piggy back the whole way back. She licks his glands in the elevator thinking of his question about small spaces. “Another small space,” She starts to slip. 

Bed. 

Good Alpha.


	14. Rey’s Abduction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s the end of Phaux’s and the unthinkable happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please be forewarned this chapter takes a sinister turn, depicting Rey drugged, abducted and suggestively raped by multiple alphas, when an effort by Hux to save her goes terribly wrong. If this is a trigger please refrain from reading either this and the last chapter, or the sections: 
> 
> “Upon opening the back, Ben is hit with the most obnoxious mix ....” 
> 
> to 
> 
> “Rey strains a whimper to him letting him know she can smell him. It’s all she can do.“

The auction is a similar outcome a couple days later with several high rollers arguing about her show car not being in the auction. Rey is flattered but there is no way she’s giving it up. Ben feels the need to protect her several times and she allows it. 

Its the end of the last day at Phaux’s and most of everyone who has nothing to pack up have already dispersed into the night. Rey has a bunch of leads on custom work. Every car but Ben’s, Rey’s and the truck were sold and waiting for the new owners or their carriers to pay the auction’s head auctioneer before pinks could be given in reference to the car sale. 

Rey and her family have been enjoying the stars and each others company before packing up what hasn’t been sold, when Rey realizes she needs to use the lavatory. Ben, the gentleman he is decides to walk her over to the resort, instead of using the Johns that have been practically destroyed.

She offers him a shy smile telling him he didn’t need to protect the Lou. He shrugs and points over to the lobby telling her where he’ll be. Ten, then twenty minutes pass, heightening Ben’s concern. When she doesn’t come back, Ben barges in to find Hux sprawled out with his pants around his ankles, leaning and bloody against the wall by the sink. He slurs a few things, and drop a half filled horse tranquilizer with rings of evidence that it was partially used, multiple heat educing and pheromone abating syringes also completely emptied.

Ben looks on in horror, losing all of his composure, screaming for Rey.

Hux barely breathes, “Snoke’s men took her” before passing out. 

Ben can smell the other men faintly following it wildly out the door where it disperses completely. His eyes go completely black in rage. 

Poe finds him first, only by chance. He heard him scream but wasn’t sure he was ready to meet up with an enraged Alpha. 

“They have Rey” he huffs. 

“Who has Rey?”

“Snoke.” He needs clarification, “Who is Snoke?”

“Snoke?” Poe thinks about the week remembering his section showing transportation of goods as his service that he was providing for Phaux’s event. “Why would? Come on!” They run back to the truck. Poe explains what Snoke is “Snoke is a seller in shipping bids... but I don’t know what he’d be doing abducting women.” 

“Hux - they jumped her in the bathroom,” Ben shows the picture of Hux and the drugs, close ups of the syringes.

“Send that to Finn and get him in there. Make sure to get him to call the cops over. Where was the cop that was supposed to be watching her?”

Ben can barely speak, “Wasn’t in there.” As he sends it to Finn

Finn calls immediately, “Where are you?”

“Just get to the women’s room and do what I said.”

“I’m on my way. What’s going on?”

“They took Rey!” Ben growls.

“Check in with Connix and Rose. They went in for the night.” Poe yells over speaker phone. 

“You text them, I have to handle Hux and the police.” Says Finn.

“Ok! Ok..Call me when they get there.” Says Poe

Ben is shaking. Blood is coursing through his veins at an unbearable rate. “I’m going to kill every last one of whoever took her Poe. There will be no survivors.”

Poe doesn’t say anything back. Instead he calls the girls. 

Several calls later Connix answers. “Why did you call 12 times Poe? I was in the shower and Rose is watching some horror flick. What’s going on?”

“Someone took Rey.”

“What do you mean someone took Rey? She was with Ben when we said goodnight.”

“But she went to the bathroom and never came out.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

Hux’s photos are texted to the girls. 

“What the fuck is this?!” Rose screams from the other room.

“Rey’s been drugged and abducted. Stay together and in your room! Call me with everything you can find out. Call everyone Rey knew for information. And find out everything you can on Snoke and if he had people here.” Poe expects her to be a satellite - if only he knew.

“Snoke is a carrier. He’s in shipping. Of course he has shitheads working for him. They were on the other side of the setup, marked as SNK. Part of his particular line are larger vehicles like those obnoxious suburbans but he does more for like the actual cabs that haul containers.”

“Thanks Connix. We’ll be in touch. Stay in your room! I mean it!”

“Yes.” She rolls her eyes, “Ok. Stay safe. I love you.”

“Love you too.”

Poe calls Finn. “Girls are upstairs. They don’t know where she is but they’re going to call around see what they can find out. They know to stay put.”

“You know you commanding Connix doesn’t mean shit right? She’s going to go when she gets a lead.” Says Finn.

“She better not.”

“Let’s just hope not.” Finn blows out a huff of air knowing Rose will go too. “You better get there first.”

“Finn! After the cops take over go up there and make sure they don’t leave!” Poe commands Finn. “Call them and stay on the line with Rose.”

“Ok Poe. Just if they do. Don’t be too mad. You’ve never seen them fight..”

“Finn this isn’t the time for this! These people drugged Rey... do you really want Rose there?”

“Obviously not!”

“Then make sure they don’t leave!” Poe hangs up. 

They make it to Snoke’s section. 

It’s been evacuated. 

Connix calls Phasma twice when she finally picks up, “You have a big problem.”

“What? Who is this?! How did you get this number?”

“I’m Connix, Rey Kenobi’s partner. Your security detail failed. There’s been a breech! Rey was drugged and abducted! And Hux was there!” 

Shit shit shit I hate that kid!!! This is going to ruin me... “what do you mean Hux was there? A part of the abduction?”

“Let me send you the pictures.”

“Pictures?” She receives them. “That little shit!”

“What do you know about Snoke? He said Snoke’s guys took her. Where? Took her where!!??”

“I know nothing of this! Snoke pulled his business from us a few hours ago. He said he would not be affiliated with us anymore taking up services to our rival the Black Sun. It doesn’t make any sense though.”

“Why?”

“We just signed a new contract for another two years with them.... have you notified the police?”

“Yeah,” Finn called she wasn’t lying “organizing now-more on the way.”

“You need to get a search party underway if you haven’t already. If this just happened they could be anywhere by now. Where are you? I’ll meet you at your camp. Ok?” 

“Ok coming. Rose! Let’s go!”

“Put a tracker on your phones in case we get split up. Snoke is shady. I don’t like that man.” Says Rose. 

The girls leave in pursuit of the bikes. They know there are tags on them since they were sold and waiting for pick up, but honestly who cares? It was time to get to the lot—time to find Rey. 

The police catch up with Finn and the Resort is emptied due to this crime scene supposing that anything could be stashed in any of the rooms. A massive outpouring of guests leave through the sides of the building, and are redirected to the back patio where they are divided and spoken to by officers making sure everyone in the building was questioned and contact information was given before allowing them to leave. There were easily hundreds of people there whether they were staying or in the vicinity, they were expected to stay until every last person had been spoken to. 

Finn briefs Officer Daniels and Detective Skywalker about what happened, why he was in there making sure no one found Hux until they got there. Finn had been gagging at the concentrated smell of pheromones, blood and secretions since speaking to the girls last. “That’s all I’ve added to this,” pointing to the sink. He gags again. “Sorry.”

Officer Daniels helps Finn outside, handing him a bag to breathe in and garbage can in case he felt like he would be sick again. “You have to help me find her.” He tries to convince the officer. “She’s in danger, I just know it.”

“Obviously, counting for the drugs she must have been given...”

“Not just that- she’s an Alpha Omega.”

“Say that again?” Lifting his eyebrow to Finn.

“You heard what I said,” Finn’s frustration peaks. “If someone is ready to drug her like that and restart a heat cycle - which she’s already been through one and then a relapse right after, they can control her with those drugs to keep her willing and incapable of protecting herself! Don’t you understand?! They’re going to rape and claim her if they haven’t already! She’s mated and it won’t matter. She’ll die in a matter of hours!”

“Why do you know all of this?” 

“We just recently found out that she was part Alpha... she took a test after she still presented as an unmated Omega, even though her mate had claimed her. His marks were visible but her scent changed minimally. So her sisters had her take a test and that’s how they found out.”

“What’s her name?”

“Rey Kenobi.”

“Like Rey’s Mechanics?”

“The very same.” Finn’s phone goes off, so he checks it. It’s a connection from Rose’s phone. A tracker invitation. Then a second one from Connix, “Shit.”

“What?”

“Her sisters are leaving to go find her. I was supposed to keep them here so that her mate and Poe could go find them. Shit!” 

“Accept the trackers, and send them to me too.”

“What?”

“We’re going to follow them, in that.” Pointing at the helicopter approaching. 

Finn looks on, mortified. ‘I hate those things!’ “Okay!” He presses accept and forwards it to the officer. 

There’s chaos within the mob standing around the evening event booths scattered beyond the resort. Connix and Rose shove through the crowd, finally making it onto the lot by Han and Leia who are casually sitting by the truck unaware of what just happened. They exchange looks before both Connix and Rose meet up with Phasma, retrieve the bikes, helmets and take off. People dodge them on foot until breaking away from the group, heading west towards the border. 

Finn texts Poe with the tracking app that the girls had sent him, and informing them that the police department is sending over a chopper.

Poe wants to throw the phone. 

Ben is doing his best to just listen. He thinks he can almost hear her when the girls come flying up behind them, it’s them and with a third...woman? They guide them on west, moving back towards Nevada’s border. It’s dark and only the light of the moon and headlights are registering the land beneath them. “I swear to GOD Finn is in so much FUCKING TROUBLE!”

Connix zips from view, followed in line by Rose and Phasma all at once they turn off their lights prompting Poe to do the same as they approach an encampment. Phasma pulls a handgun from her back side as she pulls off with Rose to the side, Connix is now left in front of them pulling her own with a silencer attached. 

‘Where’d she get that?’ Poe wonders. 

Shots are fired, one and then the next with expert aim deflating every tire in their six SUV convoy surrounding the freighter. Instead of the tires on that, she fires into the cabin, missing wildly once due to a large crack in the ground. Desperately raising the gun at a ninety degree angle released the ammo cartridge, she drives the gun into her leg band for support. There she grabs and slams another sleeve into it, reloading before setting for a new task, hitting the driver. 

Poe looks on in horror as she fires several shots, only knowing they’re shots because of the recoil of the blast. Noticing a jerk in movement Connix, sheaths it back behind her before gunning it to the side of the truck. 

Rose and Phasma have combed over the wreckage’s behind them radioing in that Rey wasn’t in them. ‘Single drivers. Did find bodily fluid and blood stains in the back of one. The rolled one- tires up.’ The text makes it to everyone including Officer Daniels. 

“Calling back up to my location. Forensics squad two please use coordinates and do a full assessment of all vehicles starting with the SUV with wheels up. Blood and fluids found.”

“10-4. Reinforcements incoming.”

The truck hasn’t slowed. Odd. Connix speeds up, peels off wildly before driving straight on with the bike. 

Poe shouts at her even though they’re not within range of hearing each other. 

Time seems to slow down completely as she rides it directly into the wheel well right behind the cabin. The bike is mutilated, destroying the axil, jackknifing the tractor trailer, halting it completely, flinging connix in a full dive under the truck to the other side, which obscured her location from view. Poe screams pulling up along side it. Ben runs out to the back terrified of what he’ll find. 

Of course it’s locked.

Rose calls out from behind him to move, shooting the lock and then offering the weapon, Phasma does the same.

Upon opening the back, Ben is hit with the most obnoxious mix of Alpha pheromones, blood, come and just the hint of his...Rey!

The trailer had been barren, with the exception of some strange black curtains hanging from the top with objects mounted on the floor, ‘for what?’ He held its breath so as not to faint at the disgusting smell, slinking through the horrid place, being led on by the sounds of other men challenging each other. Unmistakeable sound of flesh pounding into flesh, the crunching sounds of bones being broke, grunts, cries, and among them a soft strangled whimper. 

Please don’t be...

Rey.

There has to be at least twenty men strewn about either dead or beaten senseless, come spent bastards among the separated spaces. A torturous growl and another fight breaks out tumbling men from their prize. 

She’s limp and unnecessarily bound. 

His eyes are black enraged past a fury that could blind him. His lungs heave in pain.

My mate.

Bullets fly, claiming everything that moves. 

My Rey.

He surges forward hurling bodies off of her. As she’s uncovered he sees bruises, broken skin, evidence of a dislocated shoulder, claiming marks all over her thighs, torso, even over his mark. He begins to weep. Fumbling over buttons on his phone to call anyone. “HELP!!! She’s here!” Ben’s body convulses in shudders that rack his body, releasing her bonds, trying to comfort her. She’s still drugged. Has no smell. But the threat of other men is gone. 

Pulling his shirt from himself, purposely ripping the collar, he dresses her in it. At least the next pair of eyes that find her with him won’t have to take in that horrid sight. Her pain. The evidence of this night. He’s careful to move her only slightly opting not to put her arms in the sleeves so as not to injure her further. Ben wipes the tears that still strain down her cheeks over her now chalky skin. Her eyes refuse to dilate, still stuck in this trance. 

Rey strains a whimper to him letting him know she can smell him. It’s all she can do. 

“Rey!” His voice is raw. 

She whimpers again as the tears flow steadily down her face.

Although she can smell him, Rey is still partially blind from the mixture of drugs. She can only see a blur of who he might be. His voice seems to echo into nothing, just a high pitched buzz fills the space as she passes out. 

——-

Ambulances and police cars’ sirens scream down the flats eventually encircling them.

Officers jump out barricading themselves behind their doors screaming at the four of them before they’re radioed from Officer Daniels about the three women and male that stood before them. 

“STAND DOWN!” An officer yells at his battalion. “NON -Hostile!”

They swarm the site, several look over SUV, the rest handle the continence of the container. 

Finn messages Rose that they’ll be there with the chopper soon, that they’re about two minutes out. Once they’re there, you will follow us to the Resistance of the Oppressed hospital just north of here. She confirms this and seeks out an officer an officer what she was just told. “They’re almost here.” Looking back over the night sky. Sure enough their police chopper was touching down several hundred meters away. “If you need anything answered we can do it there, but our sister is dying and you won’t keep us here tonight.”

The officer nods. 

Rose and Phasma reunite with Connix at the back of the truck. Poe looks like he’s lost everything when he looks up at Connix who is expelling another cartridge before placing her piece behind her back, covering it behind her jacket. He races over to her, “Connix!!” 

‘Shit.’ She looks up removing her helmet offering a shy smile, “Hi Poe.”

“I told you not to leave! I-I watched you DIE!!” Grabbing her by her shoulders. He’s infuriated but thankful she’s still alive. 

She sighs not wanting to deal with giving an obvious answer to why they didn’t stay, “Don’t be mad. We don’t have time for this. Follow the chopper.” She pulled him towards the truck, “We’re not done yet.”

Poe pulls from her and stairs, hurt that she doesn’t have time for his feelings. Didn’t she just hurl her bike under the truck? Wasn’t that what he just witnessed? She challenges him, with another look with purpose telling him she’s here but Rey’s time is fleeting. She will not wait for him if he stalls her any longer. She will be there with Rey whether he is present or not. 

He nods, hurrying to the truck. 

——

Officer Daniels and Finn set down the chopper waiting for the EMT personnel to gather her and Ben, rushing them to the nearest hospital. The journey is silent Finn and Ben both in tears. They can’t send anything out while in the air, though their tracking device is giving out a signal towards the hospital they’re now landing over. 

A rush of nurses surge through, getting ready to bring her inside. Operating rooms are usually on the ground floor, but this particular hospital, Resistance of the Oppressed, has a few at the top floor given the circumstances for emergencies involving helicopter transports. There’s a silence among them even though they’ve all been conversing. Scissors cut through the middle of Ben’s shirt, while another nurse takes her pulse. “It’s low but she has one! Let’s move people!” They haul her into the operating room giving her fluids, before the real work begins. 

Ben, mate or not, and Finn are kept out. Her injuries surpass what is visible on her skin. Broken ribs and several broken bones in the arm that had been dislocated. Internal bleeding, and the overdoses have to be controlled. The additional claims will be treated like third degree burns which will be grafted. 

Multiple surgeons are called over the course of hours of work. A frightening amount of times a surge of nurses would fly in and out of the ward. Code Blue warnings have filled the hallways sending devastation to Rey’s family, just to be told by nurses that they’ve lost her briefly only to regain her weaker. This happens in cycles. 

A final nurse is accompanied by the head surgeon explaining that this would be the first of multiple surgeries. She will be held in quarantine until she’s strong enough handle the next procedure. 

“Her arm has been reset and casted. She has four cracked ribs. We have her on a blood thinner to make sure she doesn’t clot, as it is a risk to have them with fractures or any broken bones.” Says Dr. Holdo. “Surgeon Akbar will explain about her internal organ damage when he is out. He has about another half hour before he can join you.” As comforting as she can say, “This is a truly devastating case. In all of my years,” a tear falls from her cheek, “I’ve never seen such brutality. If you need me to speak in her defense, don’t hesitate to contact me.” Offering her number to Ben but he can’t respond, he can’t even move. 

Finn reaches out to take it, thanking her. “Would it be ok to let Ben scent her?”

“I can’t, she’s in quarantine. If she,” Dr. Holdo mouths ‘survives this’, so Ben doesn’t hear it. “If she gets strong enough for the next procedure, then he’ll be allowed to. Right now it’s a high risk, and we can’t.”

Finn nods thanking her. “We’ll be in contact.” He says putting her number in his wallet. 

Ben’s mental state is diminishing with every breath. He tries to keep her in his mind but he’s already planning devastation, he’s going to find answers, justice for his mate. Death for all. 

Before they know it, Dr. Akbar is out with his nurses and an anesthesiologist, startled by Poe, Connix, Rose and Gwen who are running down the hall to meet them. He stands solidly, regarding them, “Kenobi family?” They carefully nod. “Dr. Holdo just spoke with you I’m sure.”

Finn speaks up. “They just arrived.”

He nods, swallowing hard. “Ok, a review then. Rey is weak. She handled a significant amount of a new horse tranquilizer that has been on the black market now for the course of this year. We’re unsure how much of it she had received but it slowed her heart beat enough to almost loose her multiple times during surgery. That was the ‘Code Blue’ you heard.” He runs his hand over his bald head scratching the back of his neck. “She was given blood thinners to handle healing. I’m sure Dr. Holdo explained why. The internal bleeding has been drained by a stent in her abdomen. It will have to remain until her organs have fully healed. She’ll be in quarantine for at least a month before we can handle grafting her skin marks.” 

Connix starts to choke out a swear, promising she’s going to kill for her. Poe tries comforting her but she shake him off. “Phasma, lets go.” She snarls. 

“Go where?” Poe exclaims. “YOU’RE not going anywhere!”

Connix pulls her pistol. “Watch me.” She walks past him when he grabs her by her arm. She rips her arm away from him promising a far more painful response if he needed to challenge her again. Poe watches her go, feeling helpless. Rose tosses her keys to Connix as she leaves, “Take care of her Rose. I’m counting on you.”

Rose knows to stay. Every time she’d said that to her, it meant ‘stay and finish’. She looks on to Dr. Akbar, urging him to continue.

“There will be mental devastation with the additional marks of other Alpha’s claims. Any omega would have this problem, but her heightened levels being Alpha Omega, even a small amount, will be just as if not more destructive. She is going to go through a relapse almost become child like, this is why grafting will be the surgery after they close the stent.” He stops to let them handle what he’s explained, waiting for questions. There are none. No one knows what to say. He takes another steadying breath, “Right now she’s stable and they will be keeping her up here in this ward. You won’t be able to go in. Though there is a window you can view her through when they get her in...”

Ben gets up and stalks towards the exit with them, “I’m coming too.” Dr. Akbar’s voice trailing to echos in his mind. 

“You’ll need a ride,” before Connix can protest he takes the keys and commands her to ride with Phasma. “We’ll drop you off to get your car but that’s all. Do what you want after that. You’re not commanding me. And get yourself a shirt. This isn’t some stripper party.” 

Ben’s heard that tone from Rey before. Actually, the night they met. He tries to ignore it since she’s family, but wonders if Rose harbors the same attitude. 

Connix exclaims over the roar of their bike’s engines, “We need to get that bastard, Hux....”

Phasma nods. “If he’s still alive.”

“If he’s not I’m dragging his body to Snoke himself.”

“And what? Expect him to concede? 

“If he doesn’t, he’ll have a round of silvers lodged in his head.” They drive off towards the resort where he was last seen. 

——  
Gwen is the first to see Hux. He’s strapped to a stretcher, wounds cleansed and somewhat awake. Officers and medical personnel try to stop her as she enters the closed off section by the ambulance. She shrugs them off being a woman on a mission. When she reaches him, she nails his nose with her clenched fist. 

He groans, “Fuck you Gwen...”

“Listen here you little pompous asshole. Rey Kenobi’s been raped and beaten within inches of her life and you want to groan about a broken nose?”

“It wasn’t me, Phas.”

“Says you, lying sack of shit. I saw the pictures.” 

“What pictures?” Sounding less and less likely to be hiding something.

“How much of your encounter in the WOMAN’S loo do you remember?”

“I went in to try to stop it. I was betrayed for the information I serviced Snoke. I was supposed to be paid for it but he had his goons jump me. They beat the shit out of me saying they would find her on her own.” He coughs, “she’s been followed- watched this whole time. So I joined and followed her to the bathroom when she went in I hid in the handicapped stall. I had the horse tranq’ - those guys they were professional fighters, I didn’t stand a chance.” 

Phasma is joined by Ben and Connix. Ben grabs him by the throat. “Liar! My MATE!! You! YOU DID THIS!!”

Connix looks on ready to claim Hux as a body- he’s worth it to her dead or alive. Her face cut out of stone, arms crossed, accepting his death with cold, expecting eyes. 

Phasma, however, puts one hand up, waving Ben off the weasel, “let go, Ben. He’s coming with us.”

“Like fuck he is!” 

“Give me your keys. I need to know he’s safe until we deliver him to Snoke himself.” She lifts her brow sideways to him, “Remember where you are Marine. These are law enforcement officers, you will go down for a murder they can’t unsee. You’ll never see Rey again. Is that what you want?”

His face is distraught with fear, wrecked with pain and anguish. “I can’t even hold her.”

“Go back to the hospital. She needs you. Your omega knows you’re gone.”

It takes him time to process this. Finally releasing Hux and staggering to the bike before an officer offers to give him an escort. “Why don’t I give you a ride instead” he offers. “Can’t have you in an accident too. That would defeat the purpose of you protecting her.”

“Who are you?” Agitated someone is talking about Rey.

“Detective Skywalker. On the way, you can explain what you know and I’ll make sure this is handled appropriately. Whatever damages your team does is categorized as self defense of an abducted Alpha Omega. I have some of the story, everything Officer Daniels and Finn have shared, pictures, all of the documentation from the hospital will be sent as it develops. We also have everything that Hux just expelled due to the tracker device on Connix’s phone. You don’t have to worry kid, we’ll handle it.”

Some how, Ben nods and gets in the black unmarked car. 

Ben fills him in on everything he knows on the twenty minute drive when Rose gets in contact with Ben. “You better get your ass back over here Ben!”

“What?!” 

“Code Blue! Come back! She needs you!!”

His body clenches every muscle and fears to release them, as if she’s holding onto them with every last breath she can handle. “On my way... twenty minutes out.”

The time slips from him. No more messages from Rose. Dexterity is fleeting. He can’t think through the adrenaline, running from the car as it hurls towards the entrance. He runs through the lobby, screamed at by security until Detective Skywalker runs after him waving his badge. “It’s an emergency! Stand down!”

They make it to the elevator but it takes too long so Ben runs up the stairwell, slamming into the top floor’s door, panting. He barely sees Finn and Rose crying on the floor before roaring for Rey. “Where is she?!”

Rose leaps up running to him, “she’s back in surgery. Get them to give you scrubs and go in. The loss of your scent is physically killing her now that she’s dropping off of the drugs.” 

He looks at her like she’s speaking another language. 

“NURSE!!” Rose calls for him, “REY’S MATE IS HERE HE NEEDS SCRUBS YESTERDAY!!”

A male nurse comes by with the largest set they make. He’s covered head to toe, if he hunches over. They cover his hair, give a mask and booties. He’s required to use latex free gloves and is finally shoved in to see her. 

Rey is open, a sight he can’t unsee. It seems this night will be one to drink away. She’s doped up with anesthesia, and looks like she’s grown paler, her eyes closed, lips dried and cracked. The monitor signaling needs here and there that seem to start to pick up. Dr. Akbar nods at Ben to sit behind her head, nurses set a higher screen to shield their workspace from his already destroyed mind figuring he did not need this. 

An Alpha under this much stress is dangerous but this is now certainly life and death. Rey has almost died too many times and now they have to try anything. A nurse leans in to him, “Scent her,” he says, “she’s blinded right now, she can’t see you. But she can hear and smell you.” Before nodding to her, “tell her you’re here, that you aren’t leaving. If she is the Alpha Omega, you have a job ahead of you.”

Ben starts to lose himself. His Mate is open, losing consciousness, on her way out and he’s the only one that can truly save her. “Rey?” He tries, lowering his head close to her ear, “Rey..” he starts to cry. Scenting her over all of the sterile tastes that have scrubbed over her skin when she first arrived. He’s thankful she’s clean and not tasting the spend and pheromones of every other mother fucker that raped her. He kisses her neck sweetly, licking her where he can, even behind her ears, under her chin, in desperation. 

“Rey please,” he continues to beg her. “You’re everything I need. I need you, don’t you leave. If I knew there were people looking to ambush you, I’d of made you pee in a port-a-John or we could have just left. It was over anyways, you sold everything, we could have left,” he licks her again. “You were so happy. My parents were enjoying themselves because of you. Chewy even made it out in their cabin, which they were worried about since they haven’t traveled with him in years. Watching you with my family, made it clear, I wanted a family with you. Please,” he licks at her, suckling small bruises into her neck, “please come back to me, please.” He sobs. 

Beeping on a monitor starts to pick up. The male nurse taps Ben, pointing at the screen, “it’s working.” The blood oxygen level was steadily climbing from low forties to high seventies. 

Dr. Akbar drains the stent and less blood flows from it, making a note about that being a good sign. 

Ben continues telling Rey about the places she said she wanted to go. The traveling she wanted to try. “Maybe we’ll see the stars first. We’ll go with everyone. Take three trucks and fill the tailgate with air mattresses, and camp out under the stars. We can bring food or eat before we go,” he’s working out the plans as he speaks, “I don’t know if we can cook anything there since it’s a red zone. Does that mean no light of any kind? We’ll have to find out. We can get whatever you like. I’ll even cook it. He rubs his mating gland over her jaw when he hears her.

“Kylo.” She strains through the wall of drugs trying to separate her from consciousness, “mate...” his eyes dart to hers, but they’re still closed. He almost thinks he’s losing his mind when the room gape up at her. 

Dr. Akbar gives Ben a nod and orders that he is not chastised for being by her side in quarantine. 

Her blood oxygen level has finally hit high nineties which is normal. Her pulse has been regulated, and swelling has been reducing steadily which prompts Dr. Akbar to release the stent once more. Nothing escapes her body. “Leave the stent for a few more days until we can be certain it can be sewn up.”

Ben rubs his gland into her on the other side of her jaw trying to stir up  
Her ability to contact him again but this time she gives a whimper instead.

They clean up from surgery moving on to her quarantined room. He follows just as closely as they move through the hallway. Passing her family with a small smile communicating that she’s coming along as he slips into her room. 

Her nurse debriefs him, explaining that if he needs to leave for any reason, he is expected to do so through the side door into the ‘clean room’ just before hers. “Shower there,” pointing to the bathroom in the corner, “there will be one sterile set of scrubs within it for you. Do not shower if there is not a set of scrubs or you will need to again before dressing. The longer you’re away from her the weaker she’ll be. You can scent her in here, but your smell can still be sensed.” 

Dr. Akbar nods at the nurse dismissing her. “You are the medicine we can’t provide.” He replaces his watch upon his wrist, and his wedding band before speaking again. “In all my years, I’ve never witnessed anything like that. She shouldn’t have been able to speak under that heavy a dosage.”

Ben doesn’t know what to say. 

“Who is Kylo?” He asks. 

“My name given to me by my brothers in arms.” He explains both of their name’s meanings.

Dr. Akbar’s corners of his lips curl slightly, before he drops his head down towards his feet. He has no words for Ben, and instead pats him on the shoulder before leaving his side in the operating room. 

——- 

Dr. Akbar explains what just transpired and Rose launches himself on this man, hugging him tightly. “She’s got a fighting chance now. It’ll be a long road, but she will have a better chance...” he wants to assure them but knows in the medical field that nothing is a sure thing. 

Rose contacts Connix in a series of texts figuring she’s either still driving or killing someone. 

ROSE: Rey is stable. Ben is here. They’re allowing him to stay in quarantine with her. His scent is helping her fight. Apparently she even spoke.

CONNIX: Gassing up, third stop. Almost to LA. Hux said they Snoke paid him to deliver her, when he failed his brutes were sent. The massive orgy was not intended. Snoke expects Hux back to him to explain why his sex toy hasn’t been delivered yet. We’re using this as a way in. 

CONNIX: Glad to hear she’s stable. 

CONNIX: Phas will send picture of target. 

ROSE: Thanks for the update. Stay safe. 

PHASMA: Sends the picture of Andrew Snoke.

ROSE: K. thanks....

CONNIX: How’s Poe? 

ROSE: He’s been better. I haven’t seen this side of him, I don’t think - ever. How long till you’re back?

CONNIX: Probably a few days. I’ll be in touch. 

Rose looks on to Poe. His eyes are red and swollen. He’s racked with rage and heartbreak. His love threatened him and walked out. Rose knows she’s safe. Rey trained them. She remembers the day Connix stopped taking her first name as her own. The day everything changed. She wonders if Poe knows. ‘Probably not.’ 

Rose knows her place in their family. She’s meant to keep the peace. Before Finn, this was a quality she possessed in the aid of humor. Tonight it is in the aid of lending an ear and knowledge. Pressing her palms together she looks up to Finn and nods. Finn leans on the wall by the window peering into Rey’s room watching on as Ben presses against the plastic shield protecting her from him and any other pathogens that may harm her in recovery. Finn watches on as Ben speaks to her, the only indication of it being represented as his mouth moves, and the lifting and lowering of his head as if he’s trying to get her to agree, respond, anything. Finn repeats the last few weeks in his head, remembering when he stole a moment in the backseat of their affection, happy knowing that this, what they had, was love. 

Rose carefully assesses Poe who refuses an actual seat, had slid down the wall after a rage fit trying to rip them off of the bolts secured in the hallway. His body heaving with frustration, fear and sadness. He doesn’t know Connix they she did. 

It was time to confess, she begins to speak to Poe like he was a child waiting for a story even though he was all but ready to tear the building down brick by brick, seething with anger. 

“Kaydel.” She says as an answer as if it’s the key to his madness. “Connix, her name is Kaydel.”

Poe stops mid-huff, looking up at Rose completely calm, sitting tall looking forward at the wall opposite them. She talks to him this way knowing Alpha’s use their eyes in anger to control everything they see. Because of this she controls her stare in a half mooned glossing gaze and looks at the wall as if she’s looking through it. 

“How much do you know about her?” She ignored his anger. Rose knew she never told him. Just as she never disclosed knowing how to ride R6 the was she did or that she was a perfect marksman. The tidbits that came out as they were within Ben’s presence seemed to just be coincidence?

“What do you mean?” He looks at her. “You know what I know. What else is there to know?” He tries not to growl at her but it is increasingly more difficult with each coming syllable.

“Kaydel came from a different life than Rey, than me. She grew up fighting. Unlike Rey, she was trained. An assassin of sorts at thirteen. She had nothing after her mother died and she was damned if she was going to follow her brother anywhere. There as no will depicting where she would be going after, the state faltered, she left Virginia for the program with the First Order. Forging her birth certificate, and taking their tests, she’d been accepted right away. She ranked high and fast. ‘Was a natural born fighter...”

Poe recalls the way she shot at the convoy. He was watching Kaydel. He had no idea she could do that. The memories fly in at him like a tornado. Reloading her pistol, riding the bike, slamming it into the truck, challenging him, commanding him... this last tussle in the hall before she left. “She’s a soldier?”

“She’s well past that.” Rose snorted. “According to them, she’s part of a team that doesn’t exist.” The hair on Rose’s arms stand high on her skin, still looking forward instead of at him. “Within the same year she was stationed here as a sleeper. Only called when they needed her.”

Poe’s mouth drops wide open. Trying to look at Finn for confirmation but he is still watching Rey. He positions himself in front of Rose. “What team?”

“That’s confidential. Not even I know and I’ve known her the longest. I don’t think Rey would either.” She doesn’t hesitate to look down at him and sure him up, “Connix’s is a survivor.” She refuses to say her first name again. 

“Why does she go by Connix?”

“When you join, you give all you are. Loyalty they call it. Willing them to only be one body upholding one entity. They kill your past, while they form all you know. She lived on the land, not having another person for miles-it’s when I met her.” She searches the wall again like it’s playing out in a projection playing out before her.

“Her assignments were usually after dark, and meant I got to sleep in the bus.” He looks intently at her, “it’s a long story,” wishing she could omit this part. She wasn’t all that proud of living in a junkyard. 

Poe seems to just wait for it fighting the urge to tell her he’s got all the time in the world now. Somehow he thinks it’s wrong to say even given Rey’s circumstances. The battle is fighting with him as they sit until he sighs and sits back against the wall across from her. She purposely looked above him, just above his curls. 

They sit in silence for what seems like eternity until she folds figuring he actually needed to hear it. As she explains everything to him, warding off off-subject questions just to get through it. “Be forewarned, when she comes back, do not call her by her old name. She may kill you. Like end you. That is life she doesn’t want to be possessed by.”

He nods and then looks up at the ceiling tile. Rose finally folds in on herself. Looking for anything else to ask Rose since she’s been so forthcoming tonight, “So that leaves you. How did you come about?” 

“Oh ...fuck...” she muttered. 

Finn’s eyes met hers knowing her story. “I left after my parents split.” She explains her dad’s evolvement, and what it did to their family. “If you don’t mind, I’d rather not get into it. My sister and I stay in contact but that’s about it. Connix and Rey became my family and that’s all we we ever wanted to know. Missions stopped, and she was released from service. Afterwards we protected each other.” She stops, “Rey being down- she’s protecting us again. One last mission.”

——-

A few days pass without hearing from Connix or Phasma. Rose knows better than to ask. She’ll be back when she’s back. Han and Leia have been by trying to offer anything they can, even if it’s just to sit watch so the trio could eat or rest, maybe shower. Poe is the first to leave, claiming he needs to take a walk. No one challenges him.

Han clears his throat looking on to Ben who looks like he’s been destroyed. Nurses enter, excusing him from her bedside, claiming she needed a new IV. He asks them how often they prick her, and the answer is routine, “every four days to eliminate the chance of infection.” 

He does the math, ‘7 times a month. God.’  
Looking over to her as he backs up and reluctantly out the double doors toward his parents. He welled up, the release was coming but how would it come out?

Han wastes no time hugging Ben. Leia looks ok watching them sob together for what felt like forever before Ben’s large wingspan drew her in too. 

“I’m so sorry kid.” Han choked out. “You don’t deserve this. Not her. Not Rey.”

This renewed more pain building in Ben’s heart. 

“Your mom, she went shopping and packed you a bag filled with changes of clothes, underwear, all of that...” Han nodded to her as they began to release their embrace. 

Leia tries stilling her tears, “Theres a charger and I found a speaker you can use with your phone? Han said she loved music... I don’t know... you- you don’t have to use it- I just...” Ben hugged her again. Music, he didn’t even think of it. 

“Thanks Mom.”

“We’re always here. We’ll always be here if you need us.” She said. “We love you so much.”

“Did you want to get some food?” Asks Han.

“I can’t chance it.”

“I’ll bring something back up to you. Cafeteria special? Or a burger? Like a real one? Hell I’ll even drive to California for an In and Out burger.”

Ben laughs. Actually laughs. “I’ll take a burger. Thanks Dad.”


	15. Thankful For You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two years after Connix leaves she’s reunited with her family.
> 
> Rey addresses news broadcasts in the hospital, clearing the air to what happened. 
> 
> Rose and Finn have a surprise. 
> 
> Gwen appreciates Rey that much more. 
> 
> And Rey is beyond herself, thanking Benz

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter Rey speaks about the abduction. If this is a trigger for you. Don’t read it or stop here: 
> 
> “She apologizes for the rude interruptions before settling back into her memories..”
> 
> To
> 
> “But without my Alpha, I’d of surely died. I’ll let the hospital staff comment on all of that.”

Connix has been gone for almost two years. 

Poe, in the first year, losing hope breaks down, resulting in drinking and throwing tantrums until Ben gave him an out. They would train together running in the morning and boxing or shooting evening until Poe stopped drinking all together. The most he would take aside from water was seltzer water and lemon. 

One afternoon he admits to Ben, “I don’t even know why I keep holding on to the idea she’ll come striding through that door back to me.”

“Some of the worst battles are the ones you aren’t sure of,” regarding Rey and her progress. 

Rey is back to her usual self running her shop like she never left. Her music pounding through a sound system Ben had built for her. She sings her favorite parts and gives a little bob when she’s really enjoying herself. “You know what she went through and she’s still here with me.” He blows out a sigh, “if the girls don’t question it, then don’t you think we shouldn’t either?” 

“You sound an awful lot like Finn.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Finn rejoins them with drinks, water of course for Poe. 

“It’s lot,” Poe puts his hands up, “Just, look buddy,” he gets distracted with Finn nodding over his head several times, “What? Why do you keep going like this?” He mimicked Finn.

Finn puts his hand up and shoves Poe’s face to look out the back of the hangar. Poe feels like he’s looking forever at a blank canvas when he finally sees her.

“Con?” He breathes. 

She’s exited a Blackhawk, holding her uniform’s headwear in the crook of her arm. She is announced as she leaves by the crew, offering their honorable hand gesture before being set at ease. Vice Admiral K. Connix walked square out from underneath the still spinning blades. She walks with purpose back to the hangar. 

Poe drinks the sight of her in. Her uniform is all black, a high collar sits a few inches over her neckline, shoulders strong and firm. Her top extends slightly over her hips, and the hem lines are embroidered into the buttoned down section of the garment in a deep red that rings the button holes as well as her name strip that lays over her left bosom. Above that are badges and medals obviously earned for all of the battles she’s won. They are extensive spanning from just above her name tag almost touching her shoulder. 

Her pants are pleated making her long legs look even straighter before enveloping in some three inch heeled black stilettos. He remembered those shoes, darkly, but this was a sight to see. Her hair was tightly fastened into a low, braided bun, glowing in the sunlight right before reaching the inside of the hangar. 

Poe pushes his water bottle back into Finn’s hand making his way up to her. “Connix?”

Every step she took forward Poe made an effort to almost run to her, carrying himself at least a hand full of strides up to her before he picks her up at her waist hauling her into the air, high over his shoulders. She drops her hat bracing her hands over his shoulders, releasing tears of joy. 

Her voice sounds softer than usual, not quiet, but sweet as if she was testing his mental state though he’d embraced her as he did. 

He brings her in to his chest sobbing. He didn’t want to ruin this moment with questions. He just was overwhelmed that she was back. 

Rey who was in the oil pt at the time, pulls herself back out of it, cleaning her hands on a towel, before looking up at the commotion. Instead of charging she walks up to them in their moment, letting them enjoy each other. 

Finn texts a picture of Poe and Connix to Rose who had been out by the pool when she came in, counted down from sending it, “5....4....3....2....” He points at the door. 

“CONNIX!” Rose shouts. “You’re home!!”

Everyone welcomes her back, but the girls share something exceedingly special. A sisterhood that could never be broken, as they stand together not knowing what to say first, Connix starts, “I’m so glad you’re both ok!”

——

It takes days to get back to normal with everyone being home. Construction started on all three of the properties with the availability to build whatever they liked within a very thick budget. 

One of the first projects Ben and Rey focused on when she came home had been completed and already released by Apple. The bonus Ben had received in the commission helped with the six month hospital stay. He remembers back to when they worked on it, and why. Her body was still weak so the shop stayed open only for simple maintenance work that the guys could work on. 

Rose would run back and forth to the store, any errands at all, she would handle it without a beat, knowing hitting the simplest of cracks would heave pain through Rey’s body. 

Ben was able to sketch out each piece as she recreated what was originally made. In the course of a few weeks it was done. Because of her situation, Ben was able to arraigned for the creative board to visit her at her shop where she explained the concept, that she’s been using hers for years before realizing they could be sleeker. She remembers asking that they use the new one and photograph hers. She had a history and wouldn’t part with them. It elicited friendly smiles and a chuckle from a hipster who couldn’t wrap her world around his enlarged ego, she was sure of it. 

She cracks her gum giving him a sideways glare. 

Ben stops this before she opens her mouth again. 

“Yes Alpha,” she muses in front of them.

Her voice. 

She’s not ready...he shakes the needy thoughts before the pour helplessly from his mind.

The other contributor to the living quarters project we the cars and bikes that were sold, minus the Honda Connix hurled into the truck. That, they had to remake before giving it back to it’s rightful owner. 

Gwen Phasma made a donation to the project as well, given their now, solid relationship. After delivering Hux to Snoke as bait, she was out. The mission was not for her, she explained. “Your friend is intense.” She apologizes knowing that the information she has, while in its amount is small, “if I share it, it’s a federal offense. My freedom means something to me.” She finally has the nerve to say. “Until next time,” she offers her hand to shake everyone’s hands before leaving towards her garage. 

Rey looks on as her silver BMW roars up the strip, past the fence, leaving the property with haste. 

Phasma was ready to be done with this chapter of her life. Phaux’s had been under intense scrutiny, covered by all the major news broadcasting stations, had been in no place to further her business until Rey, from her hospital bed, addressed the public. If it weren’t for Rey, Gwen would have lost everything. 

Rey, who had underwent her final surgery a month before she spoke was, their term, ‘camera ready’. She refused makeup, and was handed note cards of which she waited for the time to speak before letting the camera record her throwing them out over the side rail of her bed, to much of Rose’s enjoyment. ‘No one was going to tell Rey what to do or say.’

She would clasp her hands in her lap, steadying herself to speak on the points she wanted to make. Reporters leached into her room asking questions over her as she spoke, prompting her first annoyed side head lop. 

“Oh no,” said Ben sitting at her side pinching his brow. 

“See yourself out. I can speak to the camera without you.” She nodded at the door. “This is not a request.”

She apologizes for the rude interruptions before settling back into her memories of the last day in the salt flats she makes sure that they know this is age appropriate. “No one under the age should listen at all, but know yourself, if abduction, drugs, Alpha omega heat manipulation, beatings, rape, Alpha gang banging a drugged Alpha Omega, multiple Alphas claiming a mated Alpha Omega, near death experiences, and major surgeries are triggers for you, turn off this program and go outside.”

The atmosphere in the room goes from buzzing with need to know, to dead in an instant as she continues, explaining the accounts of the day. “Phaux’s was over. There was a lingering crowd and we went from enjoying time beside each other sitting under the stars, taking in all of the successes of the week, to cleaning up and getting ready to go. I pulled my car into Han’s rig, and left the truck and Ben’s car out. The bikes hadn’t been picked up yet and I decided to use the loo at the resort a bit away that we were staying at,” She explains the rest stopping again.

Her eyes seem like she’s searching for something, “Armitage scurried in before claiming there was a fight in the men’s lavatory and just had to piss, since I was no authority of the toilets, I shrugged him off, doing my business and then leaving the stall to wash up. Men poured in grabbing at me. I saw the little ginger in the mirror, stab one of them with something. The man he stabbed pulled it from himself, read it and stabbed me with it. I remember not having the capability to move within moments. Even my vision was blurred. I could still feel them in their attack, but was sure it was some sort of nightmare. I mean who attacks someone in the loo? Really...” She clears her throat, “I had been stabbed with two more things. The first I didn’t feel anything immediate so I thought I’d just been stabbed. The second filled my body with an unbearable heat flash, like molten metal had been shoved through my vagina at such a force it could explode though my body burning it to ash.”

The cameraman shook clearly in pain from the thought. She stops to ask him if he was ok, asking if he had a tripod he’d rather use. Her voice was laced with concern, but he choked out that he was ok and she could continue. 

It pretty much was the same as the police report, “Every claim was more violent than the last,” she touches the one they defiled, choking back tears, “none of them smelled like my mate. I was sure I was dying at every claim. Certainly begging to. And after what felt like eternity, I smelled him.” Barely audible, “I smelled his fear. His need to protect me flared through my senses, and all I could do was whimper.” 

Everyone cried, including Ben, sobbing at her recollection. “This is Ben. My Alpha.” She says bringing him in and scenting him lovingly, “He, my family, doctors and nurses worked around the clock making sure I was ok. But without my Alpha, I’d of surely died. I’ll let the hospital staff comment on all of that.”

“Also, I wanted to make sure that you are all on the level about Phaux’s and Gwen Phasma because this has been irritating to watch unfold in your reports contorting the truth. You know you’re doing it for something to talk about, and her business is dwindling because of it. None of this is her fault, she even was part of my rescue. I would appreciate it if you would stop harassing her with all of your fake news.” She stops again. “Are there any questions?” Silence stretched long before the cameraman confirmed from his ear feed that no one had the gall to ask her anything else. 

Gwen will always remember Rey’s recognition, and while being accepted into their circle, she feels the need to be distant. 

Construction is coming along and while most of it is working on layouts, figuring out spaces for rooms, it comes out that Finn and Rose has been undergoing treatments to get pregnant. A flurry of excitement runs through their family before they break the news that they’ve been failing. They’re were finally set up with a surrogate who is carrying their manipulated egg. “The omega, Amilyn, is about four months in.” 

“Amilyn?” Poe asks, “my sister?!” He acts like this should bother him but Connix calms him reminding him its her body, her choices. 

“She offered thinking it would be wrong to ask Rey. She’s been through enough.”

“How did you guys meet?” He asks. 

“She was a nurse at the hospital tending to Rey. We happened to be talking about our future and how hard it is for Betas to carry Alpha’s seeds, and she just offered. We failed so many times in a year that we wound up contacting her.” Finn explains. 

“Amilyn- she’s been so good to us. This is, she’s — she’s a Godsend.” Rose beams with happiness. 

Poe nods knowing he has no say in what they’re doing. It’s just hard for him because of all the times he protected her. “She’s the youngest. Unmated I think. Ask her to live in with you until some time after birth so she has family around. I don’t want anything happening to her or your child.” He gets up to hug the both of them, “congratulations.”

The contractors finish within six months due to it being the dry season. Nevada is usually dry, but no showers meant work throughout the day, well into the night. As the projects wound down decorators were hired and they were moving in promptly.

—-

Rey stands in her garage just starring running her fingertips over the gate gazing past it at a memory of Ben the night they met. The time seemed to flash before her eyes. A single tear ran down her cheek realizing the weight of all that’s happened. 

“I’m so thankful for you.” She whispers.

**Author's Note:**

> There are multiple references to music, lyrics and songs thatbIndo not own. Most of them are used to set a tone in the story, to help Rey communicate where she is either emotionally or physically because of her strong passion for it - and because she spent so much time on her own, that sometimes this unrefined woman desires the right words to say. 
> 
> All of the music and artists are represented. If you find I missed one, please let me know and I’ll fix it ASAP.
> 
> Hope you like my first shot at A/B/O and strong female character development.


End file.
